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CHICAGO. 

A 


SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

OF 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

BY 

THOMSON  JAY  HUDSON,  LL.D. 

AUTHOR  OF  “THE  LAW  OF  PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA,”  ETC 


NINTH  EDITION 


CHICAGO 

A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 
1907 


Copyright 

By  A.  C.  McClurg  and  Co, 
a.d.  1895 


3  ffirtitcatt  tfjts  Folume 

TO 

NOEL  LAWRENCE  ANTHONY, 

TO  WHOSE  KINDLY  COUNSEL,  ENCOURAGEMENT,  AND 
ASSISTANCE  IN  ITS  PREPARATION  I  OWE 
MORE  THAN  I  CAN  EXPRESS, 

AND  WHOSE  FRIENDSHIP  IS  ONE  OF  THE  GREATEST 
PLEASURES  OF  MY  LIFE. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/scientificdemons01huds_0 


PREFACE. 


EARLY  three  years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  publica- 


1\  tion  of  my  first  work,  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,” 
in  which  I  formulated,  tentatively,  a  working  hypothesis  for 
the  systematic  study  and  correlation  of  all  psychic  phenomena. 
Before  venturing  to  publish  that  work,  however,  I  had  devoted 
many  years  to  a  patient  and  thorough  investigation  of  the 
subject,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  whether  any  psychic 
phenomenon  had  ever  been  observed  and  recorded  that  was 
inexplicable  under  the  terms  of  my  hypothesis.  Not  being 
able  to  find  a  record  of  such  a  phenomenon,  but  finding,  on 
the  contrary,  that  every  psychic  fact  furnished  a  fresh  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  correctness  of  my  theory,  I  ventured  upon  its 
publication.  Since  then  I  have  continued  the  search,  aided 
by  many  able  reviews  and  criticisms  of  my  work,  the  result  be¬ 
ing  that  I  have  been  unable  to  find  a  fact  or  an  argument  that 
militates  against  the  truth  of  the  hypothesis  then  formulated. 

I  have,  therefore,  felt  justified  in  appearing  before  the  public 
again,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  to  their  legitimate  conclu¬ 
sions  some  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  “  The  Law  of  Psychic 
Phenomena.” 

That  work  was  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  the  consider¬ 
ation  of  the  mental  characteristics  and  powers  of  man  as  we 
find  him  in  this  life.  The  present  work  is  devoted  to  a  scien¬ 
tific  inquiry  concerning  his  prospects  for  a  future  life. 

In  pursuing  this  inquiry,  I  have  endeavored  to  follow  the 
strictest  rules  of  scientific  induction,  taking  nothing  for  granted 
that  is  not  axiomatic,  and  holding  that  there  is  nothing  worthy 
of  belief  that  is  not  sustained  by  a  solid  basis  of  well-authenti¬ 
cated  facts.  In  other  words,  I  have  studied  the  science  of 
the  soul  precisely  as  the  physical  sciences  are  studied ;  namely, 
from  an  attentive  observation,  and  a  systematic  classification, 
of  the  facts  pertaining  to  the  subject-matter.  The  facts  of  the 
soul,  as  the  terminology  indicates,  consist  of  what  are  known 
as  “  psychic  phenomena.”  These  phenomena  have,  from  time 
immemorial,  excited  the  wonder  and  fed  the  superstitions  of 
all  the  races  of  mankind;  and  it  is  humiliating  to  observe 
that  in  no  age  or  nation  have  the  superstitions  arising  from 
such  phenomena  assumed  a  more  gross  and  palpable  form 
than  in  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  in  those 
nations  possessing  the  highest  degree  of  civilization  and  cul- 


PREFACE. 


viii 


:ure.  In  the  meantime,  however,  scientists  have  begun  the 
study  of  the  phenomena  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  some¬ 
thing  of  their  nature  and  proximate  cause  ;  and  although  the 
study  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  enough  has  already  been  learned 
not  only  to  remove  them  from  the  realm  of  superstition,  but 
to  develop  the  fact  that  psychic  phenomena  furnish  the  only 
means  by  which  science  can  solve  the  problems  of  the  human 
soul. 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  outline  a  method  of  scientific 
inquiry  concerning  the  powers,  attributes,  and  destiny  of  the 
soul,  and  to  specifically  point  out  and  classify  a  sufficient  num¬ 
ber  of  the  well-authenticated  facts  of  psychic  science  to  demon¬ 
strate  the  fact  of  a  future  life  for  mankind. 

The  earlier  chapters  are  devoted  to  a  review  of  the  principal 
arguments  for  immortality  heretofore  advanced,  with  the  view 
of  showing  their  invalidity  from  a  scientific  standpoint,  as  well 
as  demonstrating  the  necessity  for  a  new  departure  in  the 
methods  of  treating  this  the  most  important  problem  of  human 
existence.  The  phenomena  of  so-called  spiritism  necessarily 
come  under  this  category ;  and  for  that  reason,  as  well  as  for 
the  purpose  of  a  correct  classification  of  psychic  phenom¬ 
ena,  I  have  felt  compelled  to  devote  considerable  attention  to 
the  refutation  of  the  arguments  recently  advanced  in  support 
of  the  spiritistic  hypothesis.  I  have  also  been  compelled,  in 
the  interest  of  correct  classification,  to  devote  some  attention 
to  the  psychic  phenomena  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament. 

If  my  interpretation  of  these  two  classes  of  phenomena  runs 
counter  to  the  opinions  of  others,  spiritists,  on  the  one  hand, 
may  derive  consolation  from  the  fact  that  my  interpretation 
of  their  phenomena  leads  to  the  same  general  conclusion  which 
they  have  deduced,  namely,  that  man  is  heir  to  a  future  life ; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  hold  to  the  doctrine  of 
plenary  inspiration  and  to  the  literal  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures,  will  endorse  my  general  conclusions,  since  they 
confirm  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
invest  them  with  a  scientific  value  possessed  by  no  other 
religion  on  earth. 

In  demonstrating  the  fact  of  a  future  life,  I  have  simply 
analyzed  the  mental  organization  of  man,  and  shown  that,  from 
the  very  nature  of  his  physical,  intellectual,  and  psychical  struc¬ 
ture  and  organism,  any  other  conclusion  than  that  he  is  des¬ 
tined  to  a  future  life  is  logically  and  scientifically  untenable. 

T.  J.  H. 


Washington,  D.  C.,  Sept.  5,  1895. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Pagb 

Bacon's  Monument  to  Common  Sense.  —  The  First  to  recognize 
the  True  Value  of  a  Fact.  —  The  Law  of  Correct  Reasoning. 

—  Its  Simplicity.  —  The  Essentials  of  a  Correct  Hypothesis. 

—  Inductive  Reasoning.  —  The  Copernican  System.  —  Defec¬ 
tive  Methods  of  Reasoning  employed  by  the  Greek  Philos¬ 
ophers. —  Speculative  Philosophy  subject  to  the  Law  of 
Reaction.  —  The  Inductive  Sciences  insure  Permanent  Prog¬ 
ress.  —  Natural  Theology  at  a  Standstill.  —  The  Conflict 
between  Religion  and  Science.  —  Voltaire  and  Paine.  —  Their 
Assaults  upon  Dogma. — Their  Religion.  —  The  Triumph  of 
Science.  —  The  Doctrine  of  Evolution.  —  A  New  Contro¬ 
versy.  —  Religion  and  Science  not  Antagonistic.  —  Immortal¬ 
ity  a  Proper  Question  for  Scientific  Investigation.  —  If  True, 

it  is  Important. —  If  Important,  it  can  be  Demonstrated  .  .  17 


CHAPTER  II. 

DEFECTIVENESS  OF  THE  OLD  ARGUMENTS. 

The  Four  Leading  Arguments:  1.  Analogical  Reasoning  inhe¬ 
rently  Defective.  —  Metamorphosis.  —  Butler’s  Analogy. — 
Physical  Laws  not  Identical  with  Spiritual  Laws. —  Illustra¬ 
tion  is  not  Proof.  —  Averroism.  —  Emanation  and  Absorp¬ 
tion.  2.  Prescriptive  Authority.  —  The  Hiding-Place  of 
Power.  —  The  Priesthood  and  Divine  Revelation.  —  Induc¬ 
tive  Arguments  of  the  New  Testament.  3.  Philosophical 
Speculation.  —  Emerson’s  Belief.  —  His  Despair  of  Proof.  — 
Plato’s  Phaedo.  —  His  Three  Arguments  for  Immortality.  — 

The  Doctrine  of  Contraries.  —  Reminiscence.  —  Reincarna¬ 
tion. —  The  Capacity  of  Great  Men  for  Minute  Subdivision. 

—  The  Soul  a  Simple  Substance.  —  The  Phaedo  a  Promoter 
of  Suicide.  4.  Instinctive  Desire.  —  A  Valid  but  not  Con¬ 
clusive  Argument . 32 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SPIRITISM  AND  HYPNOTISM. 

Page 

The  Phenomena  of  Spiritism.  —  Scepticism  of  the  Church.  — 

The  Present  Attitude  of  Science.  —  Spiritistic  Phenomena 
Genuine.  —  The  Two  Hypotheses.  —  The  Spirit  Medium  Self- 
Hypnotized. —  The  Intelligence  Manifested.  —  Experimental 
Hypnotism  produces  the  same  Phenomena. — The  Power  of 
Telepathy. — The  Law  of  Suggestion.  —  Suggestion  controls 
the  Medium.  —  The  Manufacture  of  Mediums  by  Hypnotism. 

—  The  Hypothesis  of  Duality  of  Mind.  —  The  Objective  and 
Subjective  Minds.  —  The  Condition  of  the  Medium  and  the 
Hypnotized  Subject  Identical.  —  They  are  governed  by  the 
Same  Laws.  —  Socrates  as  a  Roman.  —  The  Spirit  of  “  Can- 
tharides  ”  Invoked.  —  The  Medium  not  necessarily  Dishon¬ 
est. —  The  Laws  of  Telepathy .  -S3 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SPIRITISTIC  PHENOMENA. 

The  Typical  Stance.  —  “  Test  ”  Cases.  —  The  Way  Proselytes 
are  made  — The  Telepathic  Explanation.  —  What  Telepathy 
is.  —  Views  of  Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage  and  of  Mr.  F.  W.  H. 
Myers. —  Their  Test  Cases  Explained.  —  The  Small  Resid¬ 
uum  of  Phenomena  which  they  cannot  account  for.  —  The 
Shipwreck.  —  An  Alleged  Spirit  Communication  from  a  Vic¬ 
tim.  —  A  Telepathic  Explanation.  —  Telepathy  vs.  Clair¬ 
voyance.  —  A  Typical  Case.  —  “  Stretching  ”  the  Theory  of 
Telepathy.  —  Views  of  Mr.  Podmore . 70 


CHAPTER  V. 

spiritistic  phenomena  ( continued ). 

Experimental  Telepathy.  —  Deferred  Percipience.  —  Cases  in 
Point.  —  Planchette.  —  Latency  of  Telepathic  Impressions.  — 
Nebuchadnezzar’s  Dream.  —  Daniel’s  Telepathic  Power. — 
Final  Explanation  of  Mr.  Savage’s  Test  Case.  —  The  Mother’s 
Message  to  her  Son.  —  The  Son’s  Message  to  the  Psychic.  — 
The  Last  Resource  of  Spiritism.  —  Mr.  Savage’s  Crucial 


CONTENTS. 


xi 


Pag* 

Question.  —  The  Unscientific  Attitude  of  Spiritists.  —  Thun¬ 
der  considered  as  the  Voice  of  an  Angry  God.  —  The  Sim¬ 
plicity  of  Nature’s  Laws.  — The  Alleged  “  Simplicity  ”  of  the 
Spiritistic  Hypothesis.  —  It  saves  Thinking. —  Reasoning  in 
a  Circle.  —  Why  cannot  Spirits  communicate  with  the  Liv¬ 
ing  ?  —  Not  a  Pertinent  Question.  —  The  Real  Question  is, 

Do  they  so  Communicate  ?  —  The  Evidence  is  against  the 
Spiritistic  Plypothesis.  —  “  Spirits  of  Health  and  Goblins 
Damned  ” . 9c 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ANCIENT  PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA. 

The  Importance  of  Correct  Classification  of  Phenomena.  — 
The  Science  of  the  Soul.  —  The  Phenomena  of  the  Soul.  — 
Old  Testament  Records.  —  The  Pentateuch.  —  The  Higher 
Criticism.  —  The  Psychic  History  of  the  Children  of  Israel. 

—  Unreasoning  Scepticism.  —  Aaron’s  Rod.  —  Moses  as  a 
Psychic. — His  Methods  and  his  Instrumentalities.  —  The 
God  of  Moses.  —  His  H uraan  Characteristics.  —  His  Advice 
to  “spoil  the  Egyptians.”  —  Moses’  Interview  with  God  on 
Mount  Sinai.  —  The  Molten  Calf.  —  The  Anger  of  God. — 
His  Determination  to  destroy  the  Children  of  Israel.  — 
Moses  argues  the  Question. —  He  causes  God  to  Repent. — 
Renewal  of  the  Covenant.  —  Objective  Moses  vs.  Subjec¬ 
tive  Moses . . . 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ancient  psychic  phenomena  ( continued ). 

The  Prophets  of  Israel.  —  Elisha’s  Methods.  —  He  saves  the 
Three  Kings.  —  Human  Characteristics  of  Elisha’s  God. — 

The  Evolution  of  the  Monotheistic  Idea  through  Psychic 
Phenomena.  —  The  First  Conception  of  the  Idea  of  a  Living 
God. — The  Evolution  of  the  Spiritual  Man.  —  The  First 
Great  Step  through  Psychic  Phenomena.  —  The  Jewish  Ori¬ 
gin  of  Monotheism.  —  The  God  of  Abraham.  —  The  Dispen¬ 
sation  of  Moses.  —  The  Second  Great  Step  in  the  Evolution 
of  the  Spiritual  Man.  — The  Decalogue.  —  The  Influence  of 
Egyptian  Civilization.  —  The  Wisdom  of  Moses.  —  Egyptian 
Ethics  and  the  Jewish  Religion.  —  The  Progress  of  the 
Prophets  reflected  in  their  Conception  of  the  Character  of 
God.  Isaiah  s  God  no  longer  the  God  of  Israel  alone  .  .  13s 


CONTENTS. 


xii 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  ADVENT  OF  JESUS. 

Pagb 

The  Third  Great  Step  in  the  Evolution  of  the  Spiritual  Man.  — 

The  God  which  Jesus  Proclaimed.  —  Intellectual  Prodigies. 

—  The  Intuitional  Powers  of  Jesus.  —  His  Psychical  Powers. 

—  His  Perfect  Knowledge  of  the  Laws  of  the  Soul.  —  Mod¬ 

ern  Confirmations  of  the  Truth  of  his  Philosophy.  —  The 
Psychic  Methods  of  Jesus. —  His  Reason  always  in  the  As¬ 
cendant.  —  His  Perfect  Moral  and  Religious  Character.  — 
Psychic  Phenomena  the  Evidence  of  his  Divine  Mission.  — 
Paley’s  Views.  —  The  Divine  Heritage.  —  The  Vitality  of  the 
Christian  Religion . 144 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  INTUITIVE  PERCEPTION  OF  TRUTH. 

Books  that  thrill  the  Reader  with  Pleasurable  Emotions.  —  The¬ 
ories  to  account  for  it.  —  Literary  Style.  —  Personal  Mag¬ 
netism.  —  The  Soul’s  Love  of  Truth.  —  Books  Popular  in 
proportion  to  their  Truth.  —  The  Scriptures.  —  The  Philoso¬ 
phy  of  Jesus.  —  Intuitional  Perception  of  its  Truth.  —  Evo¬ 
lution  of  Religion.  —  Christianity  the  Final  Goal.  —  The 
Impossibility  of  improving  upon  True  Christianity.  —  The 
Absolute  Religion . 160 


CHAPTER  X. 

PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA  OF  PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIANS. 

Spiritistic  Phenomena  among  the  Early  Christians.  —  Testi¬ 
mony  of  the  Christian  Fathers.  —  The  Departure  from  Jesus’ 
Example.  —  Paul’s  Explanation  of  Spiritistic  Phenomena.  — 
John’s  Tests.  —  Paul’s  Ecstatic.  —  The  Oriental  Ecstatics.  — 
Modern  Occidental  Ecstatics.  —  Alleged  Perception  of  Divine 
Truth  in  the  Ecstatic  Condition.  —  Neither  Jesus,  Paul,  nor 
John  believed  in  Spiritism.  —  Primitive  Christianity  pro¬ 
moted  by  Psychic  Phenomena.  —  Constantine.  —  The  Priest¬ 
hood.  —  Prohibition  of  Psychic  Manifestations  among  the 
Laity.  —  The  Beneficence  of  the  Inhibition . 171 


CONTENTS. 


xiil 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MODERN  PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA. 

Pagb 

Mesmerism.  —  Telepathy  demonstrated  by  the  Followers  of 
Mesmer.  —  Braid’s  Discovery.  —  Hypnotism.  —  Discovery  of 
the  Law  of  Suggestion.  —  Clairvoyance.  —  The  Rochester 
Knockings.  —  Mesmeric  Subjects  and  Mediums.  —  Spiritism 
as  a  Step  in  the  Process  of  Evolution.  —  Its  Effect  ...  189 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HAS  MAN  A  SOUL? 

Intuitive  Perceptions  of  the  Existence  of  a  Soul  in  Man.  — 
Plato’s  Philosophy.  —  The  Doctrine  of  Body,  Soul,  and 
Spirit. — The  Doctrine  of  Jesus.  —  Modern  Scientific  Scep¬ 
ticism.  —  Requirements  of  Modern  Science.  —  The  Dual 
Hypothesis.  —  The  Phenomena  of  Dreams. —  The  Objective 
and  Subjective  Mental  States  differentiated.  —  Limitations 
of  Powers  of  Reasoning  in  the  Subjective  Mind.  —  Its  Per¬ 
fect  Power  of  Deduction. —  Telepathy  and  Prevision  .  .  .198 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

has  man  a  soul?  ( continued ). 


The  Perfect  Memory  of  the  Subjective  Mind.  —  Memory  and 
Recollection  Differentiated.  —  Sir  William  Hamilton’s  Views. 

—  Intuitional  Powers  of  Perception  of  Nature’s  Laws. — 

The  Seat  of  the  Emotions.  —  The  Three  Normal  Functions 
of  the  Subjective  Mind.  —  The  Infant’s  Development  from 
Savagery  to  Civilization.  —  Total  Depravity.  —  Dangers  of 
Subjective  Control.  —  Telepathy  a  purely  Subjective  Faculty. 

—  Abnormality  of  Psychic  Manifestations.  —  Ill  Health  a 

Condition  precedent  to  their  Production.  —  They  grow 
Stronger  as  the  Body  grows  Weaker.  —  Strongest  in  the 
Hour  of  Death.  —  The  Objective  Mind  perishes  with  the 
Brain . . . 212 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

has  man  a  soul?  (continued). 

Page 

Recapitulation.  —  A  Prima  Facie  Case.  —  Concurrent  and  An¬ 
tagonistic  Hypotheses.  —  The  Law  of  Suggestion.  —  A  Case 
of  “  Mediumistic  ”  Development.  —  The  Alleged  Spirit  Con¬ 
trol  assumes  a  Dictatorship.  —  It  develops  a  Passion  for 
Music.  —  Music  the  Language  of  the  Emotions.  —  A  purely 
Subjective  Faculty.  —  Subjective  Music  and  Objective  Music 
Differentiated.  —  The  Dual-Mind  Theory.  —  Absurdities  In¬ 
volved  in  the  Single-Mind  Theory . 225 


CHAPTER  XV. 

DUALITY  DEMONSTRATED  BY  ANATOMY. 


The  Brain  not  the  Sole  Organ  of  the  Mind.  —  Surgeon-General 
Hammond’s  Researches  and  Experiments.  —  The  Instinctive 
Faculties.  —  The  Subjective  Mind  acts  independently  of  the 
Brain.  —  Instinctive  Acts  Performed  after  the  Brain  was  to¬ 
tally  eliminated.  —  Children  Born,  without  a  Brain  perform 
all  the  Instinctive  Functions.  —  The  Medulla  Oblongata  and 
the  Spinal  Cord  the  Organs  of  the  Subjective  Mind.  —  Idiots 
without  a  Brain  evince  Talent  for  Music,  Mathematics,  etc.  .  239 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

DUALITY  DEMONSTRATED  BY  EVOLUTION. 


Duality  in  the  Lower  Animals.  —  A  Primordial  Fact.  —  A  Physi¬ 
cal  Basis  for  Immortality. — The  Ultimate  Goal  of  Psychic 
Evolution.  —  Evidence  of  Design  in  Psychic  Development. 

—  Definition  of  “Design.”  —  Nature  conceals  God.  —  Man 
reveals  God.  —  The  Functions  of  the  Soul.  —  Design  evinced 
in  the  Facts  of  Organic  Evolution.  —  The  Benevolence  of 
God.  —  Painless  Death.  —  The  Universal  Anaesthetic.  —  God 
is  ever  kind  to  the  Victim  of  the  Inevitable.  —  Man  Re¬ 
enthroned  . . . . 2  5° 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  DISTINCTIVE  FACULTIES  OF  THE  SOUL. 


Page 

Every  Faculty  of  the  Mind  has  its  Use  or  Function.  —  Faculties 
of  the  Soul  which  perform  no  Normal  Function  in  this  Life. 

—  The  Man  and  the  Brute  psychically  Differentiated.  —  Ego- 
Altruism. —  The  Instinct  of  Self-Sacrifice.  —  Conditions  pre¬ 
cedent  to  the  Attainment  of  Immortality . 259 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FACULTIES  BELONGING  TO  A  FUTURE  LIFE. 


The  Necessity  for  limiting  the  Powers  of  the  Subjective  Mind  in 
this  Life.  —  Man  a  Free  Moral  Agent.  —  The  Law  of  Sug¬ 
gestion  a  Necessity.  —  Limitations  of  Power  pertain  only  to 
this  Life.  —  Induction  unnecessary  in  the  Future  Life.  —  In¬ 
tuition  takes  its  Place.  —  Induction  Impossible  when  the 
Power  of  Perception  exists.  —  The  Higher  Intuitional  Powers 
Useless  in  this  Life.  —  The  Power  of  Correct  Deduction  in 
Man  and  Animals . 268 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  DYNAMIC  FORCES  OF  THE  MIND. 


The  Buddhistic  Nirvana.  —  A  purely  Intellectual  Existence  with¬ 
out  Memory,  Emotion,  or  Personality. — The  Basis  of  their 
Philosophy.  —  Incomplete  Observation  of  Psychic  Powers.  — 
Ignorance  of  the  Law  of  Suggestion.  —  Requisites  for  the 
Retention  of  Personality.  —  Memory.  —  Consciousness.  — 
Will. —  Will  is  Desire.  —  The  Strongest  Desire  of  the  Soul. 

—  Egoism  and  Egotism  of  the  Soul.  —  Egoism  the  Normal 
Desire  for  Retention  of  Personality.  —  Egotism  Abnormal 
Self-Conceit.  —  The  Dynamics  of  the  Soul.  —  The  Kinetic 
Force  of  the  Soul . 277 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  AFFECTIONAL  EMOTIONS  OF  THE  SOUL. 

Pagb 

All  the  Affectional  Emotions  Retained  in  the  Future  Life.  — 
Telepathy  the  Means  of  Communion  in  the  Future  Life. — 
Telepathy  neither  Vestigial  nor  Rudimentary. —  It  performs 
no  Normal  Function  in  this  Life . 293 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PRACTICAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


The  Abnormality  of  Psychic  Manifestations.  —  The  Dangers  at¬ 
tending  Psychic  Activity. — The  Different  Forms  of  Psychic 
Development.  —  Psychic  Powers  inversely  Proportioned  to 
Health.  —  Unsuspected  Dangers.  —  Musicians.  —  Stenogra¬ 
phers  and  Type-writers.  —  Compositors.  —  Genius  and  Insan¬ 
ity. —  Opinions  of  Scientists.  —  Dr.  MacDonald.  —  Summary. 

—  Biographical  Facts.  —  The  Great  Practical  Lesson  of  Psy¬ 
chic  Science.  —  Immorality,  Vice,  Crime,  and  Insanity  the 
Result  of  Psychic  Activity . 298 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

LOGICAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  CONCLUSIONS. 


A  Perspective  View  of  the  Arguments  Presented.  —  The  Final 
Syllogism.  —  The  Parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus.  — 
The  Christian’s  Heaven.  —  The  Revelations  of  Modern  Sci¬ 
ence  Identical  with  those  of  Jesus . 


3U 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

OF  THE 

FUTURE  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Bacon’s  Monument  to  Common  Sense.  —  The  First  to  recognize  the 
True  Value  of  a  Fact.  —  The  Law  of  Correct  Reasoning. —  Its 
Simplicity. — The  Essentials  of  a  Correct  Hypothesis.  —  Induc¬ 
tive  Reasoning.  —  The  Copernican  System.  —  Defective  Methods 
of  Reasoning  employed  by  the  Greek  Philosophers.  —  Specula¬ 
tive  Philosophy  subject  to  the  Law  of  Reaction.  — The  Inductive 
Sciences  insure  Permanent  Progress.  —  Natural  Theology  at  a 
Standstill.  —  The  Conflict  between  Religion  and  Science.  —  Vol¬ 
taire  and  Paine.  —  Their  Assaults  upon  Dogma.  —  Their  Religion. 
—  The  Triumph  of  Science.  —  The  Doctrine  of  Evolution.  —  A 
New  Controversy.  —  Religion  and  Science  not  Antagonistic.  — 
Immortality  a  Proper  Question  for  Scientific  Investigation.  —  If 
True,  it  is  Important.  —  If  Important,  it  can  be  Demonstrated. 

“  TV /I  AN,  the  minister  and  interpreter  of  Nature,  does  and 
*  ’  *•  understands  so  much  as  he  may  have  discerned 
concerning  the  order  of  Nature  by  observing  or  by  meditat¬ 
ing  on  facts :  he  knows  no  more,  he  can  do  no  more." 1 
These  words  are  Bacon’s ;  the  italics  are  mine. 

If  the  great  Lord  Chancellor  had  written  and  expounded 
but  that  one  sentence,  he  would  have  been  entitled  not 

1  Novum  Organum,  book  i.  p.  I. 

2 


1 8  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

only  to  the  eternal  gratitude  of  all  mankind,  but  to  the 
credit  of  having  builded  the  grandest  monument  to  Common 
Sense  that  was  ever  erected  by  human  genius.  This  eulo- 
gium  will  not  seem  extravagant  when  it  is  remembered  that 
Bacon  was  the  first  man  who  taught  the  world  the  true 
value  of  a  fact ;  that  is  to  say,  he  was  the  first  to  discover 
and  formulate  the  fundamental  truth  that  all  successful 
inquiry  concerning  the  order  of  Nature  must  of  necessity 
be  founded  upon  a  solid  basis  of  well-authenticated  facts. 
When  we  contemplate  the  wondrous  civilization  of  an¬ 
cient  Greece  and  Rome,  their  advancement  in  the  science 
of  government,  the  beauty  and  grace  of  their  literature,  the 
subtleties  and  refinements  of  their  philosophy,  the  tran¬ 
scendent  genius  of  their  artists,  the  grandeur  and  nobility 
of  their  architecture,  it  seems  strange,  incomprehensible, 
incredible,  that  the  discovery  of  this  self-evident  truth  was 
left  for  a  civilization  built  upon  a  soil  which  was  not  res¬ 
cued  from  barbarism  when  the  Parthenon  began  to  decay 
and  the  Coliseum  to  crumble.  But  such  was  the  tardiness 
of  human  progress  —  the  conservatism  of  the  human  mind 
—  in  the  days  before  it  had  broken  the  shackles  of  authority, 
when  opinions  had  the  force  of  enactments,  and  dogmas 
were  regulated  by  statute.  What  is  now,  to  the  unperverted 
mind  of  the  average  schoohboy,  a  self-evident  proposition, 
struck  the  scientific  mind  of  the  Elizabethan  age  with  the 
force  of  a  revelation ;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  world 
owes  all  its  subsequent  progress  in  material  science  to  the 
process  of  reasoning  and  of  scientific  investigation  formu¬ 
lated  and  developed  by  Francis  Bacon.  Nay,  more.  The 
world  not  only  owes  all  its  substantial  progress  to  that 
source,  but  the  inductive  process  is  the  sure  guaranty  of 
the  stability  of  our  civilization,  and  of  its  constant  advance¬ 
ment  for  all  time. 

The  laws  of  correct  reasoning  are  as  immutable  as  the 
law  of  gravity;  and,  properly  applied,  are  as  certain  and 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


19 


exact  in  their  results  as  a  law  of  mathematics.  They  are  the 
natural  laws  of  the  human  intellect ;  they  are  inherent  in 
its  nature  and  constitution.  But  what  is  true  of  every  law 
of  Nature  is  also  true  of  the  law  of  reason ;  namely,  that 
until  it  is  discovered  and  formulated  by  man,  he  is  not  in 
a  position  to  avail  himself  of  its  uses,  or  to  reap  the 
benefits  of  its  beneficence.  Like  every  other  law  of  Na¬ 
ture,  when  once  comprehended  the  law  of  correct  rea¬ 
soning  was  found  to  be  simple  to  the  last  degree.  It 
is  well  stated  in  the  opening  sentence  of  the  “  Novum 
Organum,”  and  quoted  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 
It  may  be  restated  thus :  Nothing  can  be  known  with 
certainty  except  by  an  appeal  to  facts.  This  is  inductive 
reasoning. 

Broadly  speaking,  there  are  but  two  methods  of  reason¬ 
ing  ;  namely,  induction  and  deduction.  The  former  consists 
in  reasoning  from  particulars  up  to  generals,  and  the  latter 
in  reasoning  from  generals  down  to  particulars.  Each  is 
proper  in  its  legitimate  sphere  ;  but  all  conclusions  depend 
for  their  validity  upon  the  correct  employment  of  each  in 
its  proper  domain,  by  which  one  is  never  allowed  to  take 
the  place  or  usurp  the  functions  of  the  other. 

Inductive  reasoning,  then,  consists  in  observing,  verify¬ 
ing,  and  classifying  all  the  facts  attainable  pertaining  to  the 
subject-matter  undergoing  investigation,  with  a  view  of 
arriving  at  the  general  principle  or  law  which  underlies  all 
the  observable  phenomena.  This  is  the  first  great  step  in 
the  process,  without  which  man  can  never  be  certain  that 
he  knows  anything.  The  utmost  care,  therefore,  is  neces¬ 
sary  in  this  step  in  order  to  avoid  the  pitfalls  which  beset 
the  pathway  of  every  honest  investigator.  The  first  of  these 
pitfalls  is  inaccurate  observation ;  the  second  is  insufficient 
verification ;  and  the  third  is  the  constant  tendency  of  the 
human  mind  to  generalize  from  an  insufficient  number  ot 
facts.  There  are  many  other  sources  of  error  which  beset 


20 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


one  who  would  conduct  a  scientific  investigation ;  but  as  it 
would  be  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  discuss  the 
subject  in  detail,  I  will  content  myself  by  pointing  out  one 
that  does  not  seem  to  have  attracted  its  due  meed  of 
attention. 

Referring  to  the  general  tendency  of  the  mind  to  gen¬ 
eralize  from  an  insufficient  number  of  facts,  —  a  propensity 
which  also  includes  inaccurate  observation  and  insufficient 
verification,  —  it  will  be  observed  that  there  is  also  a  ten¬ 
dency  to  range  facts  into  factions,  and  to  determine  general 
principles  by  suffrage.  This  often  happens  after  an  inves¬ 
tigator  has  committed  himself  to  an  hypothesis.  He  soon 
finds  that  his  theory  is  contradicted  by  some  of  his  facts, 
but  he  consoles  himself  with  the  reflection  that  the  majority 
of  his  facts  sustain  his  hypothesis,  and  he  triumphantly 
quotes  the  old  maxim  that  “  Exceptions  prove  the  rule.” 
No  more  pernicious  and  fatal  error  can  be  entertained. 
There  are  no  exceptions  to  the  operations  of  a  law  of  Na¬ 
ture  There  exceptions  do  not  prove  the  rule.  This  maxim 
holds  good  only  in  its  application  to  human  laws.  It  is  appli¬ 
cable  to  them  because  it  often  happens  that  a  rule  of  com¬ 
mon  law  which  applies  with  substantial  justice  to  a  great 
majority  of  cases,  will  work  irreparable  wrong  in  an  excep¬ 
tional  case.  Hence  courts  of  equity  are  established  “  for 
the  correction  of  that  wherein  the  law,  by  reason  of  its 
universality,  is  deficient.”  1  But  Nature’s  laws  require  no 
courts  of  equity  to  provide  for  exceptional  cases.  Excep¬ 
tions  prove  the  rule  in  human  enactments  in  that  they  pro¬ 
voke  attention  to  the  rule  and  thus  give  it  emphasis  by 
antithesis.  In  case  of  an  apparent  exception  to  a  supposed 
law  of  Nature,  one  of  the  two  propositions  must  be  true  : 
i.  If  it  is  truly  a  law,  the  exception  is  only  apparent,  and 
fuller  investigation  will  demonstrate  that  fact,  and  thus  em¬ 
phasize  the  rule ;  2.  On  the  other  hand,  if  one  fact  refuses 


1  Blackstone. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


21 


to  range  itself  under  the  terms  of  a  supposed  law,  that  fact 
demonstrates  the  invalidity  of  any  hypothesis. 

Particular  stress  is  laid  upon  this  point  for  the  reason 
that,  as  before  remarked,  it  seems  to  have  been  lost  sight  of 
in  many  quarters  where  one  would  expect  to  find  the 
strictest  rules  of  scientific  investigation  rigidly  enforced. 
Newton  fully  appreciated  the  weight  and  importance  of  the 
distinction,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  long  delayed  the 
publication  of  the  “  Principia,”  because  of  the  apparent 
refusal  of  one  phenomenon  to  submit  to  the  terms  of  his 
hypothesis ;  and  not  until  it  was  demonstrated  by  subse¬ 
quent  discovery  that  the  apparent  exception  did  not  exist, 
did  he  venture  to  give  to  the  world  the  theorem  which 
made  his  name  immortal. 

Having  established  a  general  principle  or  law  by  induc¬ 
tion,  the  process  of  deduction  begins ;  and  if  no  fact  re¬ 
mains  to  negative  the  principle,  we  can  take  our  stand  upon 
the  constancy  of  Nature  and  the  immutability  of  her  laws, 
and  confidently  explain  the  past  and  predict  the  future. 
And  this  is  the  test  of  the  correctness  of  an  hypothesis,  — 
that  it  enables  one  skilled  in  the  science  to  which  it  apper¬ 
tains  to  predict  correctly,  to  state  with  scientific  certainty 
what  will  happen  under  a  given  state  of  circumstances. 
Thus  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  pertaining  to  the  movement 
of  the  heavenly  bodies  enables  the  astronomer  to  predict 
the  phases  of  the  moon  and  the  eclipses  with  mathematical 
exactitude.  We  may  take  the  science  of  astronomy  as  an 
illustration  of  the  processes  of  inductive  reasoning  and  of 
all  scientific  investigation.  By  the  accurate  observation  of 
facts  for  a  long  series  of  years  by  many  and  independent 
observers ;  by  comparison  of  the  results  of  their  observa¬ 
tions,  and  by  a  system  of  checking,  tabulating,  verification, 
and  revision  constantly  employed,  aided  by  the  genius  of 
such  men  as  Kepler  and  Newton,  the  Copernican  system 
of  astronomy  was  finally  wrought  out,  and  the  laws  govern- 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


22 

ing  planetary  motion  were  formulated.  This  was  induction, 
—  reasoning  from  particular  facts  up  to  general  principles  or 
axioms.  By  deduction,  the  astronomer,  taking  as  his  premises 
these  general  principles  thus  established  (the  constancy  of 
Nature  being  always  assumed),  is  enabled  to  explain  all  the 
salient  features  of  planetary  motion,  and  to  predict  with  un¬ 
erring  accuracy  the  phenomena  of  the  future.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Ptolemaic  system,  which  preceded  the  Coperni- 
can,  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  defective  methods 
of  the  ancients,  arising  from  inaccurate  observation,  insuffi¬ 
cient  verification,  and  premature  generalization. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that,  because  Bacon  was  the 
first  to  discover  and  formulate  the  law  of  inductive  reason¬ 
ing,  he  was  the  first  to  reason  inductively.  Men  had  always 
reasoned  by  that  method,  more  or  less.  Nor  must  it  be 
inferred  that,  because  he  was  the  first  to  discover  and  make 
known  the  true  value  of  a  fact  as  an  element  of  logic,  he 
was  the  first  to  employ  facts  as  a  basis  of  reasoning.  The 
first  man  who  ever  observed  the  sun  rising  at  one  point  of 
the  compass  and  setting  at  the  opposite,  observed  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  facts  every  year,  from  which  he 
reasoned  inductively  up  to  the  general  principle,  that  the 
sun  rises  in  the  east  and  sets  in  the  west ;  and  he  was 
enabled  to  predict,  from  day  to  day,  that  the  sun  would 
continue  so  to  rise  and  set.  It  so  happened  that  the  man 
was  approximately  right,  having  observed  a  sufficient  num¬ 
ber  of  facts  to  justify  his  belief.  But  the  same  man,  doubt¬ 
less,  was  equally  certain  that  the  earth  was  flat,  and  that  his 
horizon  marked  the  boundaries  of  the  habitable  world.  In 
this  he  was  wrong,  and  his  error  arose  from  defective  ob¬ 
servation  of  an  insufficient  number  of  facts.  Nor  in 
this  was  he  alone.  His  defective  methods  of  reasoning, 
differing  only  in  degree  and  not  in  kind,  were  shared  by 
all  his  contemporaries,  and  by  all  his  successors,  great 
and  small,  down  to  the  days  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  and 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  23 

from  Plato  and  Aristotle  down  to  the  days  of  Queen 
Elizabeth. 

Until  that  time  all  men  reasoned  by  defective  methods  ; 
for  the  fundamental  law  of  reasoning  had  not  been  dis¬ 
covered.  Hence  the  wisdom  of  a  Socrates  or  a  Plato 
afforded  no  protection  against  the  fatal  error  of  deducing 
the  most  momentous  conclusions  from  assumed  premises ; 
nor  could  the  logic  of  Aristotle,  which,  as  Bacon  declares, 
“  corrupted  natural  philosophy,”  prevent  him  from  “  con¬ 
structing  the  universe  out  of  his  Categories.”  1  The  wisdom 
of  the  Greeks,  according  to  Bacon,  was  disputatious ;  their 
science  was  spectacular  ;  their  history  was  composed  largely 
of  tales  and  rumors  of  antiquity,  and  they  were  always 
more  intent  on  founding  sects  and  systems  of  philosophy, 
and  fighting  for  supremacy  in  wrangling,  than  zealous  in 
their  search  for  truth.  Their  teachings,  therefore,  often 
seemed  to  justify  the  charge  of  Dionysius  against  those  of 
Plato,  —  that  they  were  “  the  words  of  idle  old  men  to 
inexperienced  youth ;  ”  and  of  the  Egyptian  priest  who 
said  of  the  Greeks  that  “  they  were  ever  children,  and  had 
neither  antiquity  of  knowledge  nor  knowledge  of  antiquity  ;  ” 
and  of  Bacon,  who,  quoting  the  above,  added,  “  And  surely 
in  this  they  are  like  children,  —  they  are  ready  to  chatter, 
but  cannot  beget.” 

Nevertheless/no  one  can  fail  to  appreciate  the  subtlety 
of  their  philosophy,  the  vigor  of  their  intellects,  or  the 
virility  of  their  manhood,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the 
soundness  of  their  methods  of  searching  for  truth.  In  spite 
of  defective  processes  of  reasoning  they  have  bequeathed  to 
posterity  an  immortal  literature,  a  deathless  fame,  and  a 
philosophy  which,  in  many  instances,  demonstrates  an 
intuitive  perception  of  truths  which  modern  science  can 
only  illustrate  and  confirm.  But  of  true  science  they  had 
nothing  worthy  of  the  name.  Like  their  philosophy,  it  was 

1  Novum  Organum. 


■  24  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

speculative,  and  hence  was  unable  to  withstand  those  ever¬ 
present  reactionary  forces  which  impel  the  human  mind  to 
rebel  against  any  system  of  science,  philosophy,  or  belief 
not  based  upon  observable  phenomena  or  demonstrable 
propositions. 

Hence  it  was  that  all  the  learning  and  the  philosophy,  all 
the  arts  and  the  civilization  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome 
could  not  avert  their  decadence,  nor  rescue  the  intellectual 
world  from  the  dismal  horrors  of  the  long  night  of  mediaeval 
barbarism.  It  is  a  common  remark  that  the  physical 
effeminacy  of  the  people  of  ancient  Rome,  resulting  from 
the  luxurious  habits  engendered  by  the  refinements  of  their 
civilization,  rendered  them  an  easy  prey  to  the  hordes  of 
vigorous  barbarians  of  Northern  Europe,  and  was  thus  the 
primary  cause  of  their  downfall.  Other  instances  exist  where 
ancient  civilizations  have  risen  and  flourished  and  fallen. 
Every  year  fresh  discoveries  are  made  of  the  remains  of 
prehistoric  civilizations  which  must  have  been  in  decay,  if 
not  extinct,  long  before  tradition  began.  And  in  every 
case,  historic  or  prehistoric,  there  exist  evidences  that  their 
extinction  was  the  result  of  practically  the  same  causes  as 
those  which  led  to  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
From  these  facts  it  has  been  argued  that  there  must  exist  a 
natural  law  pertaining  to  civilization  analogous  to  the  law  of 
organic  nature ;  namely,  that  growth  results  in  maturity, 
maturity  in  degeneracy,  and  degeneracy  in  disintegration,  — 
in  other  words,  that  the  law  of  human  development  is  not 
the  law  of  constant  progress,  but  that  civilization  moves  in 
successive  cycles.  Such  reasoners  look  with  gloomy  fore¬ 
boding  upon  the  present  state  of  progress  in  science  and 
the  arts  as  a  sure  precursor  of  the  imminent  decadence  of 
those  nations  who  have  attained  the  higher  civilization, 
and  of  their  ultimate  relapse  into  barbarism. 

I  cannot  so  interpret  the  history  of  mankind.  Our  present 
civilization  is  built  upon  a  radically  different  foundation 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


25 


from  that  of  any  of  the  nations  whose  history  may  be  cited 
as  a  precedent.  The  difference  may  be  illustrated  by  a 
single  reference.  Taking  Greece  as  an  example  presenting 
the  most  striking  contrast  between  the  highest  degree  of 
her  enlightenment  and  the  lowest  degree  of  her  degeneracy, 
the  most  obvious  fact  pertaining  to  the  character  of  her 
civilization  is  this  :  that  in  not  one  of  the  arts  or  sciences 
in  which  she  excelled  the  most  barbarous  nations  which 
surrounded  her  was  there  a  single  element  of  power  that 
could  give  promise  of  national  perpetuity,  or  even  of 
substantial  national  progress.  The  Greeks  excelled  in 
philosophy,  but  it  was  almost  purely  speculative,  and  was 
therefore  subject  to  the  law  of  reaction.  Their  science  was 
as  speculative  as  their  philosophy,  and  subject  to  the  same 
law.  They  excelled  in  mathematics,  but  in  the  absence  of 
other  sciences,  of  which  mathematics  is  but  the  handmaiden, 
it  was  not  an  element  of  power.  They  excelled  in  art  and 
in  literature,  but  in  neither  was  there  an  element  of  national 
strength ;  for  though  the  art  of  Phidias  has  never  been 
surpassed,  and  Homer’s  rank  after  the  lapse  of  ages  is 
unchallenged,  the  sculptor’s  chisel  and  the  poet’s  tablet 
were  poor  weapons  of  defence  against  the  superior  physical 
force  of  their  enemies. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  civilization  of  the  present  day  is 
founded  upon  the  inductive  sciences.  In  the  inductive 
sciences  the  law  is  that  of  eternal  progress.  In  them  there 
is  no  possible  element  of  reaction.  A  proposition  or 
principle  of  natural  philosophy,  once  established,  is  as 
firmly  fixed  as  a  proposition  in  mathematics,  and  is  never 
afterwards  disputed.  Every  step,  therefore,  is  a  step  in 
advance.  Every  new  demonstration  of  a  law  of  Nature 
furnishes  the  basis  for  a  fresh  start  in  a  thousand  different 
directions.  There  is,  therefore,  no  possibility  that,  either 
in  the  purely  demonstrative  or  in  the  purely  experimental 
sciences,  the  world  can  ever  again  go  backward,  and  there 
is  as  little  probability  that  it  will  ever  stand  still. 


26 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


The  inductive  sciences  have  within  themselves  the 
inherent  principles  of  perpetuity  and  of  progress.  Not 
only  that,  but  they  are  constantly  providing  external  de¬ 
fences  against  assaults  by  physical  force.  No  hordes  of 
barbarians  can  now  swoop  down  upon  a  superior  civilization, 
and  conquer  its  people  by  means  of  mere  muscular  superi¬ 
ority  ;  for  the  inductive  sciences  have  provided  appliances 
which  confer  upon  intelligence  and  skill  a  vast  superiority 
over  combined  muscular  and  numerical  strength,  though 
the  latter  may  be  inspired  by  the  most  desperate  physical 
courage.  Science,  and  not  muscle,  is  now  the  prime  factor 
in  the  struggle  of  nations  for  supremacy ;  for  the  victories 
of  war,  as  of  peace ,  are  organized  in  the  laboratories  of  the 
inductive  sciences. 

The  obvious  inference  is  that,  other  things  being  equal, 
so  long  as  the  world  is  under  the  dominion  of  the  inductive 
sciences,  no  civilized  people  can  ever  again  be  conquered 
except  by  the  agents  of  a  higher  civilization. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  further  upon  the  obvious  im¬ 
portance  of  the  discovery  which  Bacon  made  ;  and  my  only 
excuse  for  reciting  the  a  b  c  of  the  processes  of  induction 
is  that  it  is  always  proper,  and  frequently  important,  in  the 
discussion  of  any  question,  to  recur  to  fundamental  prin¬ 
ciples.  Besides,  whilst  there  is  no  law  of  nature  more  simple, 
or  more  easily  comprehended,  than  the  fundamental  law  of 
human  reason,  yet  there  is  none  that  is  more  habitually  and 
persistently  disregarded  and  set  at  defiance.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  nine-tenths  of  all  that  mankind  believes,  or  thinks 
it  believes,  is  destitute  of  any  solid  basis  of  fact.  It  is, 
perhaps,  not  so  much  the  fault  as  the  misfortune  of  human¬ 
ity  that  this  is  true.  We  must  not  forget  that,  much  as 
mankind  has  achieved  in  the  way  of  wresting  from  Nature 
the  secret  of  her  laws,  the  intellectual  world  is  yet  in  its 
infancy.  It  is  less  than  three  centuries  since  man  began 
to  comprehend  the  first  principles  pertaining  to  the  power 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


27 


which  enables  him  to  make  an  intelligent  search  for  truth. 
Gigantic  strides  have  been  made  within  that  time,  it  is  true  ; 
but  they  have  been  in  one  direction  only.  The  material 
universe  has  been  explored,  the  dynamic  forces  of  Nature 
have  been  enslaved,  and  the  physical  condition  of  man 
has  been  ameliorated. 

But  many  problems  still  remain  unsolved  which  are  of  far 
greater  importance  to  mankind  than  any  that  have  yet 
yielded  to  the  processes  of  induction ;  and  they  are  prob¬ 
lems  upon  which  none  of  the  physical  sciences  throw  the 
faintest  glimmer  of  light. 

Natural  theology  stands  precisely  where  it  did  when 
Thales  philosophized  and  Simonides  sang ;  and  the  argu¬ 
ments  are  identical  with  those  which  Socrates  employed  in 
his  confutation  of  the  atheism  of  Aristodemus.  Not  one  of 
the  physical  sciences  in  which  we  excel  the  Idumeans  has 
advanced  us  one  step  in  the  solution  of  the  great  problem 
propounded  by  Job,  —  “If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?  ” 

Indeed,  the  discoveries  of  modern  science  seem  to  have 
weakened,  rather  than  strengthened,  the  old  arguments  em¬ 
ployed  to  prove  the  existence  of  Deity  or  the  doctrine  of 
immortality.  Modern  physical  science  has  at  least  weak¬ 
ened  the  hold  which  those  beliefs  had  upon  humanity ;  for 
the  scientific  mind  is  prone  to  hold  that  what  is  not  proved 
by  induction  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  disproved.  And  no 
scientist  has  ever  attempted  to  demonstrate  either  of  those 
propositions  by  induction.  Bacon  himself  does  not  seem 
to  have  regarded  theology,  natural  or  revealed,  as  being 
susceptible  of  being  brought  within  the  domain  of  science. 
On  the  contrary,  he  appears  to  have  regarded  the  essential 
doctrines  of  religion  as  sufficiently  well  established  by  rev¬ 
elation.  He  warns  his  readers,  however,  against  “  an  un¬ 
wholesome  mixture  of  things  human  and  divine,”  and 
advises  them  to  “  render  to  faith  the  things  that  are 
faith’s.” 


28 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


It  does  not  seem  probable  that  Bacon,  whose  mind  was 
cast  in  a  severely  logical  mould,  could  have  overlooked  the 
wide  discrepancy  between  the  methods  of  reasoning  which 
he  taught,  and  those  which  were  at  that  time  necessarily 
employed  in  sustaining  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  religion. 
Nor  does  it  seem  possible  that  he  was  insensible  to  the  diffi¬ 
culties  which  must  environ  the  Church  when  it  should  be 
called  upon  to  defend  its  faith  against  the  assaults  of  scep¬ 
ticism,  armed  with  the  weapons  which  he  created.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  it  was  not  until  many  years  after  Bacon 
wrote  that  the  secondary  effects  of  his  philosophy  became 
manifest.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  students  of  material 
science  became  imbued  with  his  wisdom,  and  began  to 
apply  the  severe  rules  of  his  logic  to  the  investigation  of  the 
problems  of  the  physical  universe,  they  began  to  inquire 
why  the  same  rules  were  not  applicable  to  things  spiritual ; 
and  as  soon  as  it  was  prudent  to  do  so,  they  began  to  demand 
that  the  theologian  should  give  as  good  reasons  for  the  faith 
that  was  in  him  as  were  required  of  the  scientist  for  the 
elucidation  of  the  simplest  propositions  in  natural  philos¬ 
ophy.  It  is  needless  to  remark  that  this  demand  has  not 
yet  been  met  with  an  adequate  reply,  although  the  Church 
has  been  engaged,  with  a  zeal  entirely  disproportioned  to 
its  success,  in  defending  its  strongholds. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  after  the  beginning  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  century  that  the  real  battle  between  science  and  religion 
took  a  definite  form,  or  that  science  assumed  a  seriously 
threatening  aspect  towards  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
religion.  It  was  not  until  within  the  memory  of  men  now 
living  that  scientists,  worthy  of  the  name,  became  the  aggres¬ 
sive  opponents  of  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  or  attempted 
to  disprove  the  existence  of  Deity.  The  great  conflict  be¬ 
tween  religion  and  science,  previous  to  that  time,  which 
may  be  said  to  have  been  begun  in  the  destruction  of  the 
Alexandrian  Library  and  ended  with  the  Inquisition,  was 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


29 


waged  on  entirely  different  grounds.  Thus,  when  Hypatia 
was  stripped  naked  in  the  streets  of  Alexandria  by  Cyril’s 
mob  of  monks,  dragged  into  a  church,  and  there  killed  by 
the  club  of  Peter  the  Reader,  it  was  for  the  offence  of  teach¬ 
ing  mathematics  and  the  philosophy  of  Plato  and  Aristotle. 
The  subsequent  conflicts  were  principally  respecting  such 
questions  as  the  nature  of  the  Godhead,  the  nature  of  the 
soul,  the  nature  of  the  world,  the  age  of  the  earth,  the  cri¬ 
terion  of  truth,  and  the  government  of  the  universe.  For 
many  hundreds  of  years  these  questions  were  discussed,  the 
principal  arguments  employed  against  science  being  feebly 
typified  by  those  of  Cyril  against  Hypatia.  Even  as  late  as 
the  eighteenth  century  the  religious  polemics  of  the  day 
were  not  directed  against  the  fundamental  truths  of  natural 
religion,  but  against  the  system  of  theology  which  is  based 
upon  the  interpretation  which  the  priesthood  has  given  to 
revelation.  The  works  of  Voltaire  and  of  Paine  may  be 
cited  as  the  best  known  examples.  Each  of  these  writers 
has  been  stigmatized  as  an  atheist :  but  Voltaire  believed  in 
God,  and  steadily  upheld  the  truths  of  natural  religion ; 
whilst  Paine,  were  he  living  to-day,  would  find  congenial 
employment  in  the  Unitarian  pulpit.  The  effect  of  their 
polemics  was  great  in  their  day  and  generation,  but  it  was 
not  lasting.  They  shook  the  foundations  of  creed  and 
dogma,  but  not  of  religion.  They  were  not  atheists  them¬ 
selves,  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  their  writings  have  been 
instrumental  in  converting  many  to  atheism  who  have  not 
been  able  to  distinguish  between  dogma  and  religion.  This 
effect,  however,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  could  not  be 
permanent ;  for  no  argument  not  based  upon  scientific  in¬ 
duction  can  long  prevail  against  the  instinct  of  worship  which 
is  inherent  in  the  human  mind,  or  that  hope  of  a  life  beyond 
the  grave  which  springs  eternal  in  the  human  breast. 

The  science  of  the  nineteenth  century,  however,  has 
developed  an  entirely  new  aspect  of  the  question.  The 


30 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


conflict  between  religion  and  science  still  goes  on ;  but  the 
questions  are  different  and  the  weapons  are  not  the  same. 
It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  geography,  or  of  astronomy, 
or  of  the  shape  of  the  earth,  or  of  its  relative  magnitude 
and  importance  as  compared  with  the  other  planets  in  the 
solar  system.  All  these  questions  have  been  settled,  and  it 
will  not  be  denied  that  in  each  of  these  conflicts  the  palm 
of  victory  has  been  awarded  to  science. 

The  doctrine  of  evolution  has  now  given  rise  to  another 
controversy  (it  can  no  longer  be  called  a  conflict)  between 
science  and  religion,  or,  rather,  between  scientists  and  a 
portion  of  the  Christian  Church.  On  its  face  it  is  a  con¬ 
troversy  relating  to  the  creation  and  government  of  the 
world,  —  whether  it  was  by  a  special  creative  act  of 
God,  followed  by  incessant  divine  intercession,  or  by  the 
operation  of  primordial  and  immutable  law.  The  Church, 
however,  is  by  no  means  united  in  its  opposition  to  the 
doctrine  of  evolution.  On  the  contrary,  many  of  its  most 
progressive  and  enlightened  adherents  accept  the  doctrine 
without  qualification,  whilst  others  attempt  to  harmonize  it 
with  the  Mosaic  account  of  creation.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of  science  in  this,  as  in  other 
controversies ;  and  there  can  be  as  little  doubt  that,  when 
the  day  of  its  triumph  comes,  it  will  be  found  that  true 
religion  has  lost  nothing.  Religion  has  never  lost  anything 
ns  a  result  of  the  triumphs  of  science,  but  only  as  a  result 
of  misdirected  zeal  in  opposing  science.  Religion,  there¬ 
fore,  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  doctrine  of  evolution, 
or  from  any  other  science,  if  religion  is  truth ;  for  no  truth 
is  inconsistent  with  any  other  truth. 

The  real  danger  consists,  not  in  the  conflict  of  religion 
with  science,  but  in  the  failure  of  the  Church  to  meet  the 
demands  of  science.  The  latter  reaches  its  conclusions 
from  the  observation  of  facts,  and  holds  that  nothing  is 
worthy  of  belief  that  is  not  sustained  by  observable  phe- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


31 


nomena ;  and  it  demands  of  the  Church  the  same  quality 
and  character  of  evidence  of  what  that  institution  claims 
to  be  truth  as  is  demanded  of  science  in  support  of  its 
propositions.  The  failure  to  meet  this  demand  is  filling 
the  civilized  world  with  materialism  ;  for  scientists  are  prone 
to  hold  that  whatever  is  not  susceptible  of  scientific  proof 
by  the  processes  of  induction  is,  ipso  facto,  disproved.  On 
the  other  hand,  this  proposition  is  offset  by  many  of  the 
clergy  by  the  declaration  that  questions  relating  to  immor¬ 
tality  and  the  existence  of  a  God  are  not  proper  subjects 
of  scientific  investigation  ;  that  spiritual  truths  must  be  dis¬ 
cerned  by  spiritual  perception,  —  must  be  seen  by  the  eye 
of  faith  alone, — and  are  necessarily  undemonstrable  by 
scientific  induction.  Herein  lies  the  fundamental  error,  —  i 
an  error  which  is  fast  driving  the  scientific  world  into  the 
ranks  of  materialism ;  for  science  holds  that  truth  is  only 
sacred  in  the  sense  that  error  should  never  be  allowed  to 
usurp  its  place,  and  that  anything  which  man  desires  to 
know  is  a  legitimate  subject  of  scientific  investigation.  In 
this  declaration  science  is  undoubtedly  right ;  and  it  might 
well  go  a  step  farther,  and  declare  that  anything  which  it  is 
important  for  man  to  know  can  sooner  or  later  be  scientifi¬ 
cally  demonstrated  by  the  processes  of  inductive  reasoning. 

In  making  this  declaration  I  make  no  distinction  between 
physical  and  spiritual  laws.  A  psychic  fact  is  jtist  as  much 
a  fact  as  a  granite  mountain.  If  there  is  a  God,  it  is  im¬ 
portant  for  man  to  know  it ;  and  there  are  facts  which  will 
prove  it.  If  there  is  a  life  beyond  the  grave,  it  is  important 
for  man  to  know  it ;  and  there  are  facts  which  will  demon¬ 
strate  it  beyond  a  peradventure.  It  is  to  the  task  of 
presenting  a  few  of  these  facts  that  I  address  myself  in 
succeeding  chapters. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DEFECTIVENESS  OF  THE  OLD  ARGUMENTS. 

The  Four  Leading  Arguments  :  i.  Analogical  Reasoning  inherently 
Defective.  —  Metamorphosis.  —  Butler’s  Analogy.  —  Physical 
Laws  not  Identical  with  Spiritual  Laws. —  Illustration  is  not 
Proof.  —  Averroism.  —  Emanation  and  Absorption.  2.  Prescrip¬ 
tive  Authority.  —  The  Hiding-Place  of  Power.  —  The  Priesthood 
and  Divine  Revelation.  —  Inductive  Arguments  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  3.  Philosophical  Speculation.  —  Emerson’s  Belief.  —  His 
Despair  of  Proof.  —  Plato’s  Phsedo.  —  His  Three  Arguments  for 
Immortality.  —  The  Doctrine  of  Contraries.  —  Reminiscence. — 
Reincarnation.  —  The  Capacity  of  Great  Men  for  Minute  Sub¬ 
division.  —  The  Soul  a  Simple  Substance.  —  The  Phsedo  a  Pro¬ 
moter  of  Suicide.  4.  Instinctive  Desire.  —  A  Valid  but  not 
Conclusive  Argument. 

OEFORE  proceeding  with  the  line  of  argument  which  it 
is  proposed  to  adopt  in  the  discussion  of  the  subjects 
under  consideration,  I  deem  it  proper  to  say  a  few  words 
regarding  the  methods  of  reasoning  which  have  heretofore 
prevailed,  with  the  view  of  pointing  out  a  few  of  the  salient 
defects  in  the  arguments  commonly  employed,  as  viewed 
from  a  purely  scientific  and  logical  standpoint.  This  will 
not  be  done  in  any  spirit  of  censure  or  fault-finding ;  for  I 
cannot  be  unaware  of  the  difficulties  which  have  heretofore 
environed  the  whole  subject-matter,  and  of  the  practical 
impossibility  of  formulating  a  conclusive  argument  in  the 
absence  of  those  facts  which  have  come  to  light  only  within 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  No  one  can  justly  be  blamed 
for  failure  to  reason  inductively  in  the  absence  of  facts  per- 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  33 


taining  to  the  subject-matter  of  his  speculation ;  and  no 
man  can  be  justly  censured,  except  from  an  ultra-scientific 
standard  of  reasoning,  for  accepting,  without  too  critical  an 
examination,  such  arguments  as  were  available  in  support 
of  a  doctrine  which  has  given  to  mankind  so  much  of  com¬ 
fort  and  consolation  as  the  belief  in  a  future  life  has  afforded 
to  a  great  majority  of  the  human  race.  For,  much  as  we 
may  deprecate  many  of  the  dogmas  of  the  Church,  much 
as  we  may  deride  the  crude  speculations  of  men  regarding 
the  future  destiny  of  the  soul  and  its  rewards  and  punish¬ 
ments,  the  fact  remains  that  they  have  all  served  their  pur¬ 
pose  in  their  day  and  generation ;  and  it  is  difficult  now  to 
see  how  the  world  could  have  gotten  along  without  them. 
Their  terrors  have  been  a  potent  means  of  restraint  from 
wrong-doing  among  men  whom  nothing  else  could  restrain  ; 
and  their  promises  have  filled  the  human  heart  with  conso¬ 
lation  in  this  life,  and  placed  the  iris  above  the  door  of  the 
sepulchre.  Each  dogma,  each  system  of  religious  belief, 
has  been  a  step  in  the  evolution  of  the  human  mind  towards 
a  knowledge  of  the  attributes,  the  powers,  and  the  destiny 
of  man. 

In  looking  backward,  therefore,  over  the  tortuous  and 
difficult  pathway  which  the  human  mind  has  been  com¬ 
pelled  to  tread  in  its  search  for  evidences  of  the  reality  of 
that  most  important  of  all  the  objects  of  human  aspiration, 
immortal  life,  it  would  ill  become  us  to  despise,  or  affect  to 
despise,  any  one  of  the  gradients  by  which  mankind  has 
been  gradually  lifted  into  a  purer  intellectual  atmosphere, 
and  enabled  to  enjoy  a  clearer  perception  of  truth.  In 
this  spirit  it  is  proposed  briefly  to  examine  the  arguments 
which  have  heretofore  been  advanced  in  support  of  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  life,  and  to  test  their  validity  by  the 
simple  but  infallible  rules  of  logic  which  every  intelligent 
reader  understands  and  appreciates.  If  the  old  arguments 
are  found  invalid  or  inconclusive  from  a  scientific  stand- 


3 


34 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


point,  it  will  then  be  in  order  to  inquire  what  science  has 
to  offer  in  their  place. 

In  order  that  I  may  not  be  accused  of  misstating  the 
fundamental  grounds  upon  which  mankind  has  built  its 
hopes  of  a  life  beyond  the  grave,  I  quote  the  following  pas¬ 
sage  from  Alger’s  admirable  work,  in  which  is  summarized 
the  “suggesting  grounds  on  which  the  popular  belief  rests  ”  : 

“  When,  after  sufficient  investigation,  we  ask  ourselves  from 
what  causes  the  almost  universal  expectation  of  another  life 
spring's,  and  by  what  influences  it  is  nourished,  we  shall  not  find 
adequate  answer  in  less  than  four  words  :  feeling,  imagination, 
faith,  and  reflection.  The  doctrine  of  a  future  life  for  man 
has  been  created  by  the  combined  force  of  instinctive  desire, 
analogical  observation,  prescriptive  authority,  and  philosophical 
speculation.  These  are  the  four  pillars  on  which  the  soul  builds 
the  temple  of  its  hopes ;  or  the  four  glasses  through  which  it 
looks  to  see  its  eternal  heritage.”1 

These  being  the  “four  pillars”  on  which  the  temple  is 
built,  it  is  obvious  that  if  either  one  of  them  is  found  to 
rest  upon  an  insecure  foundation,  the  whole  structure  must 
be  in  danger ;  and  if  all  are  found  to  have  been  built  upon 
logical  quicksands,  the  superstructure  must  inevitably  fall. 
Dropping  the  architectural  simile,  it  must  be  said  of  the 
four  grounds  of  belief  that  some  of  them  embrace  valid 
arguments,  but  none  of  them  are  conclusive.  The  first  in 
the  order  named  —  “instinctive  desire”  —  also  stands  at 
the  head  in  point  of  validity.  Its  discussion,  however,  will 
be  reserved  for  the  last  of  the  series,  for  reasons  which  will 
be  obvious  when  it  is  reached. 

The  question  of  “analogical  observation  ”  will  first  receive 
our  attention,  although  a  large  part  of  that  which  comes 
naturally  under  the  head  of  “  philosophical  speculation  ” 
must  also  be  included  under  this  head.  I  cannot  sum  up 
the  leading  analogical  arguments  in  favor  of  an  immortal 

1  Critical  Jtlistory  of  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future  Life,  p.  38. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  35 

life  in  better  language  than  by  quoting  again  from  the 
same  author  : 1  — 

“  Man,  holding  his  conscious  being  precious  beyond  all  things, 
and  shrinking  with  pervasive  anxieties  from  the  moment  of  des¬ 
tined  dissolution,  looks  around  through  the  realms  of  nature,  with 
thoughtful  eye,  in  search  of  parallel  phenomena  further  devel¬ 
oped,  significant  sequels  in  other  creatures’  fates,  whose  evolu¬ 
tion  and  fulfilment  may  haply  throw  light  on  his  own.  With 
eager  vision  and  heart-prompted  imagination  he  scrutinizes 
whatever  appears  related  to  his  object.  Seeing  the  snake  cast 
its  old  slough  and  glide  forth  renewed,  he  conceives  so  in  death 
man  but  sheds  his  fleshy  exuviae,  while  the  spirit  emerges, 
regenerate.  He  beholds  the  beetle  break  from  its  filthy  sepul¬ 
chre,  and  commence  its  summer  work ;  and  straightway  he 
hangs  a  golden  scarabaeus  in  his  temples  as  an  emblem  of  a 
future  life.  After  vegetation’s  wintry  deaths,  hailing  the  return¬ 
ing  spring  that  brings  resurrection  and  life  to  the  graves  of  the 
sod,  he  dreams  of  some  far-off  spring  of  humanity,  yet  to  come, 
when  the  frosts  of  man’s  untoward  doom  shall  relent,  and  all  the 
costly  seeds  sown  through  ages  in  the  great  earth-tomb  shall 
shoot  up  in  celestial  shapes.  On  the  moaning  seashore,  weeping 
some  dear  friend,  he  perceives,  now  ascending  in  the  dawn,  the 
planet  which  he  lately  saw  declining  in  the  dusk;  and  he  is 
cheered  by  the  thought  that 

‘  As  sinks  the  day-star  in  the  ocean-bed, 

And  yet  anon  repairs  his  drooping  head, 

And  tricks  his  beams,  and  with  new-spangled  ore 
Flames  in  the  forehead  of  the  morning  sky, 

So  Lycidas,  sunk  low,  shall  mount  on  high.’ 

“  Some  traveller  or  poet  tells  him  fabulous  tales  of  a  bird 
which,  grown  aged,  fills  his  nest  with  spices,  and,  spontaneously 
burning,  soars  from  the  aromatic  fire,  rejuvenescent  for  a  thou¬ 
sand  years  ;  and  he  cannot  but  take  the  phoenix  for  a  miraculous 
type  of  his  own  soul  springing,  free  and  eternal,  from  the  ashes 
of  his  corpse.  Having  watched  the  silkworm,  as  it  wove  its 
cocoon  and  lay  down  in  its  oblong  grave  apparently  dead,  until 
at  length  it  struggles  forth,  glittering  with  rainbow  colors,  a 
winged  moth,  endowed  with  new  faculties  and  living  a  new  life 


1  Op.  cit.,  pp.  3S,  39. 


36  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

in  a  new  sphere,  he  conceives  that  so  the  human  soul  may,  in 
the  fulness  of  time,  disentangle  itself  from  the  imprisoning 
meshes  of  this  world  of  larvae,  a  thing  of  spirit  beauty,  to  sail 
through  heavenly  airs;  and  henceforth  he  engraves  a  butterfly 
on  the  tombstone  in  vivid  prophecy  of  immortality.  Thus  a 
moralizing  observation  of  natural  similitudes  teaches  man  to 
hope  for  an  existence  beyond  death.” 

From  time  immemorial  the  metamorphosis  of  the  cater¬ 
pillar  into  the  butterfly  has  been  used  as  a  standard  illustra¬ 
tion  of  the  thought  that  the  soul  will  survive  the  decay  and 
dissolution  of  its  earthly  investiture.  Thus,  the  late  Bishop 
Butler,  whose  work  is  still  a  standard  reference  book  in 
many  of  our  leading  universities,  begins  his  argument  by 
reference  to  the  metamorphosis  of  “  worms  into  flies,”  the 
hatching  of  birds  from  the  egg,  and  even  the  birth  of  men 
from  the  womb,  as  so  many  evidences  of  a  future  life ; 
because,  he  says,  “  that  we  are  to  exist  hereafter  ”...  is 
“  according  to  a  natural  order  or  appointment  of  ihe  very 
same  kind  with  that  we  have  already  experienced.”  1 

Without  stopping  to  show  the  invalidity  of  this  specific 
argument  (for  it  has  often  been  refuted),  I  will  proceed  with 
what  I  have  to  say  regarding  the  general  defects  in  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  analogical  argumentation  when  reasoning  from  purely 
physical  phenomena  up  to  conclusions  relating  to  spiritual 
laws. 

I  approach  the  subject  with  much  diffidence  for  the 
reason  that  this  form  of  reasoning  has  been  resorted  to  by 
so  many  able  men  that  it  seems  almost  iconoclastic  to  say 
that  it  is  one  of  the  most  unsatisfactory,  not  to  say  danger¬ 
ous,  forms  of  reasoning  that  can  be  imagined.  Indeed, 
it  is  absolutely  devoid  of  the  first  essential  element  of 
correct  logical  induction. 

Analogical  reasoning  belongs  to  the  realm  of  poetry  and 
rhetoric,  —  not  to  that  of  logic,  nor  to  that  of  science, 


Butler’s  Analogy,  part  i.  ch.  i. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


37 


except  within  certain  clearly  defined  limitations.  “  Poetic 
license  ”  confers  the  right  to  employ  almost  any  figure  of 
speech  or  comparison,  however  fanciful ;  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  productions  of  the  rhetorician.  But  when 
we  are  dealing  with  scientific  questions  on  a  purely  logical 
basis,  the  field  in  which  analogical  reasoning  may  be  prop¬ 
erly  employed  has  very  decided  limitations.  It  may  be 
proper  to  employ  it  when  dealing  with  matters  which  are 
known  to  be  governed  by  the  same,  or  substantially  the 
same,  laws ;  but  never  when  instituting  comparisons,  either 
between  subjects  which  are  known  not  to  be  governed  by  the 
same  laws,  or  between  subjects  which  are  not  known  to  be 
governed  by  the  same  laws.  It  seems  like  arguing  a  self- 
evident  proposition,  to  enlarge  upon  the  foregoing  ;  but  the 
necessity  for  making  my  meaning  clear  is  evident  when  we 
consider  the  fact  that  the  world  has,  through  countless  ages, 
pinned  its  faith  in  a  future  spiritual  life  largely  upon  analogies 
drawn  from  the  physical  universe. 

In  all  inductive  reasoning  there  is  one  proposition  that 
is,  or  may  be,  always  assumed  ■  namely,  the  constancy  of 
Nature.  Thus,  by  the  observation  of  a  series  of  phenom¬ 
ena,  say  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  we  are  enabled 
to  predict  with  absolute  confidence  that  it  will,  on  any 
given  day  in  the  future,  rise  in  the  east  and  set  in  the  west. 
Why?  Because  we  have  such  confidence  in  the  immuta¬ 
bility  of  the  laws  of  Nature  that  we  assume  that  the  order 
of  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun  will  never  be  reversed. 
It  is  upon  this  assumption  of  the  constancy  of  Nature,  or 
rather  upon  the  absolute  verity  of  this  assumption,  that  all 
advancement  in  the  arts  and  sciences  depends ;  for  if  it 
were  not  true,  we  could  derive  no  certain  information  from 
our  experience  or  from  our  observation  of  the  phenomena 
of  Nature.  If  gravity  operated  one  day  and  on  the  next 
refrained  from  operating,  the  whole  human  race  would  be 
instantly  put  to  confusion  and  lose  faith  in  the  integrity  of 


38 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


the  Creator.  Inductive  reasoning,  therefore,  could  have 
no  possible  value  as  a  means  of  interpreting  the  laws  of 
Nature  but  for  the  fact  that  we  know  that  Nature  is  ever 
constant. 

Reasoning  by  analogy  is  one  form  or  modification  of 
induction.  It,  too,  depends  for  its  validity  upon  the  truth 
of  a  proposition  which  is  generally  assumed  to  be  true. 
Unlike  induction  proper,  it  reasons  from  the  phenomena  of 
one  subject  up  to  the  general  principles  pertaining  to 
another  subject.  It  may,  or  it  may  not,  be  a  valid  form 
of  reasoning ;  for  its  validity  depends  upon  the  truth  of  the 
assumed  proposition  that  the  laws  governing  the  subject- 
matter  observed  are  identical  with  those  of  the  subject-matter 
tinder  investigation.  It  is  obvious  that  this  proposition 
must  be  tacitly  assumed,  for  otherwise  there  could  be  no 
possible  excuse  for  employing  that  form  of  reasoning.  It  is 
also  obvious  that  if  the  proposition  is  true  in  any  given  case, 
the  argument  is  valid ;  and  it  is  self-evident  that  if  it  is  not 
known  to  be  true,  the  argument  is,  ex  necessitate,  logically 
invalid ;  a  fortiori,  if  the  proposition  is  known  to  be 
untrue. 

Thus,  it  would  be  perfectly  legitimate  for  the  scientific 
observer  familiar  with  the  natural  history  of  the  silkworm 
to  infer  the  probable  metamorphosis  of  any  other  larva  into 
a  winged  insect ;  because  the  laws  pertaining  to  the  one 
may  legitimately  be  assumed  to  be  substantially  identical 
with  those  pertaining  to  the  other.  But  the  case  presents 
a  far  different  aspect  when  he  assumes  to  reason  from  the 
metamorphosis  of  the  caterpillar  into  the  butterfly  up  to  an 
immortal  life  for  man,  for  the  obvious  reasons,  first,  that 
the  one  is  an  insect  and  the  other  is  a  mammal,  so  that 
even  the  physical  laws  governing  the  one  are  not  identical 
with  those  pertaining  to  the  other;  and,  second,  that  the 
one  retains  a  physical  organization  through  every  change  in 
the  metamorphosis,  whereas  the  other  is  wholly  deprived 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  39 

of  any  bodily  organization,  so  far  as  our  powers  of  observa¬ 
tion  inform  us,  the  moment  the  first  change  takes  place. 

Lord  Bacon  seems  to  have  been  fully  alive  to  the  intrinsic 
invalidity  of  conclusions  relating  to  spiritual  life  which  are 
drawn  from  physical  phenomena,  when  he  said,  — 

“  Our  inquiries  about  the  nature  of  the  soul  must  be  bound 
over  at  last  to  religion,  for  otherwise  they  still  lie  open  to  many 
errors;  for,  since  the  substance  of  the  soul  was  not  deduced 
from  the  mass  of  heaven  and  earth,  but  immediately  from  God, 
how  can  the  knowledge  of  the  reasonable  soul  be  derived  from 
philosophy  ?  ” 

The  italics  are  mine.  It  is  quite  certain  that  if  he  had 
lived  in  a  later  era  he  would  not  have  hesitated  to  set  forth, 
with  his  accustomed  clearness,  his  utter  condemnation  of 
analogical  reasoning  when  employed  to  demonstrate  proposi¬ 
tions  relating  to  spiritual  law  by  reference  to  physical  facts. 
He  would  certainly  have  taught  mankind  the  much  needed 
lesson  that  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  illustration 
and  proof,  between  poetic  license  and  scientific  demon¬ 
stration. 

It  seems  evident,  therefore,  that  this  old  and  standard 
argument  for  a  future  life  must  at  least  fail  to  be  convincing 
for  the  very  simple  and  purely  logical  reason  that  one  of 
the  premises  necessary  to  its  completeness  is  known  to  be 
untrue.  It  does  not  possess  even  the  negative  merit  to 
which  the  most  of  Bishop  Butler’s  analogies  are  limited ; 
namely,  that  “  there  is  no  presumption,  from  analogy, 
against  the  truth  ”  of  the  proposition  advanced.  More¬ 
over,  “  the  presumption,  from  analogy,”  is  decidedly  against 
the  continued  existence  of  man  after  the  death  of  the 
body,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  the  insect  dies  after 
the  metamorphosis  has  been  completed.  Indeed,  most  of 
the  analogies  drawn  from  our  daily  observation  of  the  laws 
of  the  physical  universe  lead  inevitably  to  the  conclusion 
that  “if  a  man  dies,”  he  does  not  “live  again.”  For  it  is 


40 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


a  fact  within  the  experience  of  the  most  superficial  observer 
that  Nature  constantly  follows  the  one  routine,  —  birth, 
growth,  maturity,  decay,  death.  Nor  does  it  relieve  us  of 
the  difficulty  to  say,  as  has  often  been  said,  that  the  seed 
which  falls  from  the  tree  to  the  ground  contains  the  same 
life  principle  which  it  derived  from  the  parent  stem ;  that 
the  seed,  as  a  result  of  its  own  decay  and  physical  disin¬ 
tegration,  springs  into  renewed  life,  and  another  tree  is 
produced,  still  retaining  the  same  life- principle.  Such  an 
analogy  can  at  best  be  employed  to  prove  only  the  self- 
evident  truth  that  a  man,  in  a  certain  sense,  lives  in  his 
own  posterity.  Moreover,  the  argument  is  equally  as  good 
for  pre-existence  as  it  is  for  future  existence.  It  does  not 
touch  the  question  of  the  continuance  of  the  individual  life 
after  the  death  of  the  body ;  or,  if  it  does,  it  legitimately 
leads  to  the  old  pagan  doctrine  of  emanation  and  absorp¬ 
tion,  which  in  one  form  is  embodied  in  the  vast  system  of 
Buddhism,  and  in  another  in  that  of  Averroism.  This  sys¬ 
tem  supposes  that,  at  the  death  of  an  individual,  his  soul 
returns  to  or  is  absorbed  into  the  universal  mind  from 
whom  it  had  originally  emanated.  Averroes  taught  the 
Saracens  that  the  transition  of  the  individual  to  the  uni¬ 
versal  is  instantaneous  at  death ;  but  the  Buddhists  main¬ 
tain  that  human  personality  continues  in  a  declining  manner 
for  a  certain  term  before  nonentity,  or  Nirvana,  is  attained. 

“  Philosophy  among  the  Arabs,  and  indeed  throughout  the 
East,  saw  an  analogy  between  the  gathering  of  the  material  of 
which  the  body  of  man  consists  from  the  vast  store  of  matter  in 
Nature,  and  its  final  restoration  to  that  store,  and  the  emana¬ 
tion  of  the  spirit  of  man  from  the  universal  Intellect,  the 
Divinity,  and  its  final  reabsorption.1 

This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  plausible  analogical  reasoning 
on  that  subject  that  has  ever  been  promulgated ;  but  as  it 

1  Draper,  “Conflict  between  Religion  and  Science.” 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


41 


assumes  the  very  thing  logically  necessary  to  be  proved, 
namely,  that  man  has  a  soul,  and  that  the  soul  has  a  future 
existence,  it  must  be  held  not  to  answer  the  requirements 
of  logic  or  of  modern  science.  The  doctrine  however,  with 
various  modifications,  is  still  an  essential  part  of  the  philo¬ 
sophy  of  a  great  proportion  of  the  human  race  ;  and  Europe 
itself  was  only  saved  to  Christianity  by  the  timely  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  Inquisition,  which  carefully  eliminated  the 
advocates  of  the  doctrine  of  emanation  and  absorption. 

In  closing  my  remarks  on  this  branch  of  the  subject,  it 
cannot  be  too  strongly  insisted  upon  that  no  analogy  sought 
to  be  instituted  between  the  operations  of  physical  nature 
and  those  of  the  spiritual  realm  can  possess  any  possible 
logical  validity  unless  it  is  first  clearly  shown  that  the  laws 
of  the  two  worlds  are  identical.  And  as  it  is  manifestly 
impossible  to  know  the  laws  which  prevail  in  the  unseen 
universe,  it  follows  that  reasoning  from  such  analogies  is 
not  only  unsatisfactory  to  the  last  degree,  but,  measured 
by  logical  and  scientific  standards,  it  is,  to  employ  no 
harsher  expression,  positively  nugatory.  It  is  like  trying 
to  demonstrate  a  proposition  in  mathematics  by  citing  a 
rule  in  grammar.  Nor  does  it  avoid  the  objection  to 
express  the  analogy  in  the  negative  form,  which  was  such 
a  favorite  of  the  late  Bishop  Butler ;  for  it  is  the  logical 
equivalent  of  saying,  “There  is  no  presumption,  from 
analogy,  to  be  found  in  the  rules  of  grammar  against  the 
possibility  of  squaring  the  circle.  Therefore  the  circle 
can  be  squared.” 

The  second  in  the  order  of  treatment,  of  the  common 
grounds  of  the  belief  in  a  future  life,  is  prescriptive  authority. 
Little  need  be  said  on  that  subject,  for  the  reason  that  no 
one,  in  this  enlightened  age,  claims  that  the  dictum  of  any 
man  has  any  legitimate  weight  as  an  argument  in  the 
absence  of  facts  upon  which  to  base  his  claims.  “  Such  a 
doctrine,”  says  Alger,  “  is  the  very  hiding-place  of  the  power 


42 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


of  priestcraft,  a  vast  engine  of  interest  and  sway  which  the 
shrewd  insight  of  priesthoods  has  often  devised,  and  the  cun¬ 
ning  policy  of  states  subsidized.  In  most  cases  of  this  kind 
the  asserted  doctrine  is  placed  on  the  basis  of  a  divine  revela¬ 
tion,  and  must  be  implicitly  received.  God  proclaims  it 
through  his  anointed  ministers ;  therefore,  to  doubt  it  or 
logically  criticise  it  is  a  crime.  History  bears  witness  to 
such  a  procedure  wherever  an  organized  priesthood  has 
flourished,  from  primeval  pagan  India  to  modern  papal 
Rome.”  No  one,  of  course,  holds  that  the  prescriptive 
authority  "claimed' by  the  priesthood  possessed  any  scientific 
value,  per  se,  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  a  future  life  ;  and 
it  is  mentioned  here  only  because  it  is  elsewhere  set  down 
as  one  of  the  grounds  of  belief  in  immortality.  The  basis 
of  the  authority  of  the  priesthood  is  that  of  divine  revelation, 
which  is  set  down  in  books  which  all  may  read,  and  each  for 
himself  estimate  its  value  as  a  basis  of  belief.  In  the  mean 
time  there  are  few  who  claim  that  the  Bible  records  possess 
any  scientific  value  as  arguments  in  favor  of  anything  therein 
set  forth.  There  are  more  who  hold  modern  science  in  con¬ 
tempt  when  it  sets  itself  up  as  a  critic  of  divine  revelation  ; 
and  some  go  so  far  as  to  affect  to  disdain  the  principles  of 
induction  when  they  are  sought  to  be  applied  to  the  eluci¬ 
dation  of  the  problems  of  spiritual  life.  Such  men  forget 
that  the  sole  value  which  any  one  claims  for  the  records 
of  the  New  Testament  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  is  an 
attempt  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  by  the  forms 
of  inductive  reasoning.  What  is  the  New  Testament  but 
a  record  of  facts  from  which  the  Christian  Church  pro¬ 
ceeds  to  argue  that  immortal  life  for  mankind  is  logically 
demonstrated?  Take,  for  instance,  the  record  of  the  life, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  Christ.  Here  is  a  fact,  or  a 
series  of  facts,  from  which  the  principle  of  immortality  is 
deduced.  Thus  Paul  pinned  his  whole  faith  in  immortality 
on  the  fact  that  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead  :  and  he 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  43 

used  the  purest  forms  of  induction  to  express  the  grounds 
of  his  belief. 

“Now,  if  Christ  be  preached  that  he  rose  from  the  dead, 
how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is  no  resurrection  of  the 
dead  ? 

“  But  if  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ 
not  risen ; 

“  And  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and 
your  faith  is  also  vain.”  1 

Now,  whilst  this  one  fact  was  a  reason  all-sufficient  to 
induce  Paul  to  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  it 
does  not  fulfil  the  requirements  of  modern  science ;  not 
because  of  any  defect  in  the  form  of  reasoning,  but  because 
it  is  held,  first,  that  the  fact  is  not  sufficiently  authenticated  ; 
and,  second,  that,  even  if  it  were  perfectly  verified,  there  are 
other  alleged  facts  which  render  the  conclusion  invalid. 
Thus,  it  is  held  that  the  “twelve  men  of  probity”  who  are 
summoned  as  witnesses  of  the  fact,  did  not  observe  the 
phenomenon  under  the  test  conditions  required  by  modern 
science  for  the  verification  of  phenomena  which  are  claimed 
to  belong  to  the  domain  of  the  supernatural. 

But,  supposing  the  fact  of  the  death  and  the  subsequent 
resurrection  of  Jesus  to  have  been  verified  beyond  a  scien¬ 
tific  doubt,  there  is  another  alleged  fact  which  must  be  con¬ 
sidered  in  that  connection.  It  is  alleged  that  he  was  a  God, 
equal  in  power  and  coexistent  with  the  Father.  If  that  be 
true,  it  does  not  follow,  because  he  had  the  power  to  resume 
his  physical  investiture  after  having  been  crucified,  dead,  and 
buried,  that  a  mere  man  possessed  the  same  power  of  resur¬ 
rection  after  the  death  of  the  physical  body.  In  other  words, 
the  mere  fact  that  Christ,  a  God,  rose  from  the  dead  does 
not  demonstrate  the  principle  of  immortality  for  mankind. 

Again,  supposing  that  Jesus  was  a  mere  man,  invested 
only  with  the  powers  and  attributes  of  common  humanity, 


1  1  Corinthians  xv.  12-14. 


44 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


and  hedged  about  by  the  same  limitations ;  and  that  God, 
as  a  special  manifestation  of  Divine  favor,  or  for  some  inscru¬ 
table  purpose,  wrought  a  miracle  in  behalf  of  Jesus  and 
restored  him  to  life,  it  does  not  follow  that  God  will  repeat 
the  miracle  in  behalf  of  each  individual  for  all  time  to  come. 
If  it  was  a  miracle,  it  was  clearly  outside  of  the  domain  of 
natural  law,  and  each  repetition  of  it  must  also  transcend  the 
order  of  Nature.  The  only  other  alternative  is  to  suppose 
that  the  miracle  wrought  at  the  resurrection  repealed  the 
old  law  of  Nature  and  instituted  a  new  one  in  its  stead.  We 
are  nowhere  taught  that  a  miracle  permanently  changes  the 
order  of  Nature.  If  it  did,  the  miracle  at  Cana  would  have 
changed  all  the  waters  of  the  earth  into  wine ;  and  the 
miracle  of  the  loaves  and  fishes  would  have  released  man 
from  that  part  of  the  primeval  curse  which  has  compelled 
him  to  earn  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  prescriptive  authority,  even 
when  sanctioned  by  the  words  of  the  only  book  which  has 
been  held  by  the  Christian  world  to  have  had  a  divine 
origin,  is  not  invested  with  a  sufficient  power  of  conviction 
to  silence  the  objections  of  modern  science.  The  sceptical 
world  still  demands  the  same  proofs  concerning  the  realities 
of  spiritual  life  that  it  requires  as  the  price  of  its  assent  to 
the  propositions  of  material  science.  I  hope,  before  I  close 
my  labors  on  this  volume,  measurably  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  intelligent  scepticism  ;  but  in  the  mean  time  I  beg  the 
reader  to  remember  that  in  these  preliminary  observations 
I  am  attempting  to  give  voice  to  a  few  of  the  objections  of 
modern  science  against  the  qualitative  character  of  the 
proofs  of  a  future  life  afforded  by  the  Bible.  My  individual 
estimate  of  the  New  Testament  records  as  a  proof  of 
immortality  will  be  given  in  its  appropriate  place. 

The  third  ground  of  belief  in  a  future  life  is  the  result  of 
philosophical  speculation.  This  is  a  topic  of  such  vast 
magnitude  that  it  could  only  be  briefly  summarized  within 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


45 


the  limits  of  a  volume  like  this.  It  would  be  foreign  to  the 
purpose  of  this  book  to  undertake  such  a  task,  and  it  could 
lead  to  no  useful  result  if  all  the  arguments  embraced  under 
this  head  could  be  given  in  full.  They  all  begin  and  end 
with  the  confession  of  the  utter  impossibility  of  demon¬ 
strating  a  future  life  by  scientific  methods ;  or  if  the  author 
fails  to  make  the  acknowledgment,  he  forces  the  conviction 
upon  his  readers  that  such  is  the  fact.  Thus  Alger,  in  his 
masterly  epitome  of  the  thought  of  mankind  on  the  destiny 
of  man,  from  which  quotations  have  already  been  made, 
has  this  confession  to  make  :  “  The  majestic  theme  of  our 
immortality  allures  yet  baffles  us.  No  fleshly  implement  of 
logic  or  cunning  tact  of  brain  can  reach  the  solution.  That 
secret  lies  in  a  tissueless  realm,  whereof  no  nerve  can  report 
beforehand.  We  must  wait  a  little.  Soon  we  shall  grope 
and  guess  no  more,  but  grasp  and  know.” 

Thus,  again,  America’s  greatest  philosopher,  Emerson, 
whose  sublime  faith  overreached  the  bounds  of  logic  and 
disdained  the  trammels  of  science  when  it  failed  to  reveal 
Avhat  his  soul  saw  so  clearly  mirrored  in  the  vault  of  heaven, 
whilst  confessing  his  inability  to  give  scientific  grounds  for 
the  faith  that  was  in  him,  dogmatically  asserts  that  “  man 
is  to  live  hereafter.”  Continuing,  he  says :  “  That  the 
world  is  for  his  education  is  the  only  sane  solution  of  the 
enigma.”  Again,  he  makes  this  confession:  “I  am  a 
better  believer,  and  all  serious  souls  are  better  believers,  in 
immortality  than  we  can  give  grounds  for.  The  real  evidence 
is  too  subtle,  or  is  higher  than  we  can  write  down  in  propo¬ 
sitions.  We  cannot  prove  our  faith  by  syllogisms." 

This  is  the  melancholy  outcome  of  all  philosophical  or 
metaphysical  speculation  regarding  the  destiny  of  man  after 
the  portals  of  the  tomb  are  passed.  It  leads  us  into  a  maze 
of  doubts  and  alternate  hopes  and  fears,  and  ends  with  the 
despairing  confession  that  “  we  cannot  prove  our  faith  by 
syllogisms,” 


46  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

It  sounds  very  unscientific,  but  I  must  confess  that  I 
attach  more  of  scientific  value  and  importance  to  Emerson’s 
dogmatic  assertion  that  “  man  is  to  live  hereafter  ”  than  I 
do  to  the  aggregate  of  the  philosophical  speculations  known 
to  the  literature  of  the  subject.  His  was  one  of  those  pure, 
lofty,  and  poetic  souls  whose  intuitive  perception  and  recog¬ 
nition  of  truth  is  oftentimes  as  perfect  as  a  mathematical 
demonstration.  As  before  remarked,  this  statement  sounds 
unscientific ;  but  I  will  endeavor  to  show,  in  the  proper 
place,  that  it  is  not  wholly  so.  Those  who  have  read  “  The 
Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,”  especially  that  part  of  it 
relating  to  the  subjective  element  in  poets  and  poetry,  will 
readily  comprehend  my  meaning. 

Perhaps  the  best  specimen  of  philosophical  speculation 
on  the  subject  is  Plato’s  “  Phaedo,”  wherein  he  puts  into 
the  mouth  of  Socrates  an  elaborate  argument  for  immortal 
life.  How  far  it  represents  the  actual  opinions  of  Socrates 
it  is  impossible  to  know,  for  it  is  on  record  that  Socrates 
repudiated  some  of  the  sentiments  which  Plato  ascribed  to 
him  in  some  of  his  earlier  works.  But  as  Socrates  was 
dead  when  the  “Phaedo”  was  written,  and  as  Plato  was 
not  present  on  the  occasion  when  the  argument  was  said  to 
have  been  made,  it  seems  but  just  to  the  memory  of  Socrates 
to  give  him  the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  Besides,  it  is  on 
record  that  his  utterances  during  his  trial  do  not  agree  with 
those  ascribed  to  him  by  Plato  when  he  was  philosophizing 
with  his  friends  on  the  day  of  his  death.  However,  as  it  is 
the  philosophy,  and  not  the  history,  of  the  Greeks  that  we 
are  discussing,  we  will  relegate  that  question  to  its  ancient 
obscurity.  The  argument,  or  rather  the  three  arguments, 
may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows  :  — 

His  first  argument  is,  that  everything  in  Nature  has  its 
contrary.  Day  follows  night,  sleep  is  followed  by  vigilance, 
fair  is  the  contrary  of  foul,  justice  of  injustice,  etc.  From 
this  he  infers  that,  as  life  is  the  contrary  of  death,  it  follows 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


47 


that  life  must  succeed  death  and  be  produced  from  it.  It 
might  just  as  well  be  said  that  every  acid  must  necessarily 
become  an  alkali,  or  everything  bitter  must  sometime 
become  sweet.  It  is,  in  fact,  one  of  those  analogical  argu¬ 
ments  which  have  been  discussed,  in  which  conclusions  as 
to  spiritual  things  are  drawn  from  physical  phenomena. 

His  second  argument  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  all 
our  present  knowledge  is  merely  reminiscence  ;  that  is,  our 
acquired  knowledge  is  nothing  but  the  recollection  of  what 
we  knew  in  a  former  state,  and  that,  having  existed  in  a 
former  state,  we  may  confidently  count  on  a  continued 
existence  in  a  future  state. 

This  is  a  modified  form  of  the  doctrine  of  reincarnation 
so  long  held  by  the  Hindu  philosophers,  and  which  is  now 
rapidly  gaining  a  foothold  in  the  Western  world.  It  is  need¬ 
less  to  say  that  there  are  no  facts  to  sustain  such  a  doctrine  ; 
but  the  class  of  minds  in  which  it  finds  a  lodgment  cling  to 
it  all  the  more  pertinaciously  on  that  account.  There  are 
many  thousands  of  people  in  this  country  at  present  who 
fully  agree  with  Plato  in  his  doctrine  of  reminiscence  ;  and 
many  of  them  are  full  of  reminiscences  of  their  own  former 
incarnations.  The  singular  fact  of  it  is  that  none  but  the 
great  men  of  former  times  appear  to  have  been  reincar¬ 
nated  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  also  somewhat 
remarkable  that  one  man  can  occupy  so  many  different 
bodies  at  the  same  time.  I  suppose  that  Socrates  at  the 
present  moment  inhabits  some  thousands  of  different  mod¬ 
ern  earthly  tabernacles.  George  Washington  is  also  very 
generously  distributed  among  the  American  people.  And 
so  of  other  great  men.  If  we  are  to  believe  all  that  we  are 
told  by  those  who  are  favored  with  “reminiscences”  of  a 
former  life,  there  are  three  very  obvious  deductions  which 
seem  inevitable.  The  first  is  that  no  common  man  is  ever 
reincarnated ;  second,  that  the  capacity  of  great  men  for 
minute  subdivision  is  illimitable  ;  and  third,  that  reincar- 


48 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


nation  does  not  improve  the  mental  capacity  of  tn& 
reincarnated. 

It  is  difficult  to  treat  the  doctrine  of  reincarnation 
seriously ;  but  from  the  fact  that  its  followers  are  becoming 
numerous  it  assumes  the  aspect  of  a  mental  phenomenon 
which  must  be  considered  with  others  of  a  cognate  char¬ 
acter.  Jt  is,  in  fact,  a  psychic  phenomenon,  and  properly 
belongs  to  the  domain  of  experimental  psychology.  The 
idea  originated  among  a  people  who  for  thousands  of  years 
have  practised  hypnotism  and  kindred  arts,  and  have  con¬ 
sequently  built  up  a  philosophy  upon  a  basis  of  subjective 
hallucinations.  Having  practised  their  arts  in  utter  igno¬ 
rance  of  the  law  of  suggestion,  it  follows  that  their  information 
regarding  the  other  world  is  just  as  defective  as  that  obtained 
in  this  country  through  spirit  mediums  or  other  forms  of 
hypnotism,  and  for  the  same  reason.  As  in  spiritistic 
communications,  all  that  is  requisite  is  the  proper  suggestion 
to  prove  any  doctrine  whatever ;  and  any  one  can  easily 
obtain  a  large  and  varied  assortment  of  “  reminiscences  of 
a  former  life  ”  by  employing  a  hypnotist  and  submitting  to 
his  manipulations  and  the  proper  suggestions.  All  “  remi¬ 
niscences  ”  of  that  character  may  be  traced  to  that  or  cognate 
causes. 

The  third  argument  of  Plato  is,  that  compound  substances 
alone  are  liable  to  corruption,  or  disintegration ;  and  that 
the  soul,  being  a  simple  substance,  cannot  be  affected  by 
the  death  of  the  body. 

This,  like  the  other  arguments,  is  founded  on  mere 
assumption  without  proof.  How  does  any  one  know  that 
the  soul  is  a  simple  substance  ?  What  facts  demonstrate  it  ? 
Considering  the  various  powers,  functions,  and  affections  of 
the  soul,  together  with  the  multiplicity  of  its  ideas  and 
emotions,  there  are  just  as  good  reasons  for  asserting  that  it 
is  a  compound  substance  as  there  are  for  asserting  the 
contrary. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


49 


This,  then,  is  the  philosophical  argument  of  i’lato.  It  is 
neither  better  nor  worse  than  that  of  any  one  of  his 
successors  who  assumes  premises  that  are  either  not  demon¬ 
strably  true,  or  are  demonstrably  untrue.  It  lacks  every 
essential  element  of  a  logical  argument ;  and,  were  it  pro¬ 
mulgated  to-day  for  the  first  time,  it  would  receive  the 
assent  of  no  one  acquainted  with  the  elementary  principles 
of  correct  reasoning.  In  its  day,  however,  it  received  the 
instant  and  enthusiastic  assent  of  a  very  large  class  of 
people.  The  doctrine  that  death  is  not  affliction,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  a  direct  and  sure  entrance  to  a  happier  life,  so 
influenced  the  minds  of  many  that  they  laid  violent  hands 
upon  themselves  in  order  the  sooner  to  attain  that  happier 
life.  It  is  even  said  that  Ptolemaeus  Philadelphus  pro¬ 
hibited  Hegisias  of  Cyrene  from  teaching  it  in  his  school, 
for  fear  of  depopulating  his  kingdom.  Cicero  tells  us  that 
it  was  written  of  Cleombrotus  of  Ambracia  that,  “  having 
paid  his  last  compliment  to  the  sun,  he  threw  himself  head¬ 
long  from  the  top  of  a  tower  into  hell ;  not  that  he  had 
done  anything  worthy  of  death,  but  had  only  read  Plato’s 
Treatise  on  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul.” 

It  is  needless  to  remark  that,  as  a  promoter  of  suicide, 
the  treatise  has  long  since  lost  its  potency. 

The  fourth  in  the  series  of  arguments  commonly  em¬ 
ployed  to  prove  immortality  is  that  of  instinctive  desire. 
No  more  beautiful  summary  of  the  argument  exists  in  the 
English  language  than  that  of  Addison  :  — 

“  Plato,  thou  reason’st  well, 

Else  whence  this  pleasing  hope,  this  fond  desire, 

This  longing  after  immortality  ? 

Or  whence  this  secret  dread,  and  inward  horror 
Of  falling  into  naught  ?  Why  shrinks  the  soul 
Back  on  herself,  and  startles  at  destruction  ? 

’T  is  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us  ; 

’T  is  heaven  itself  that  points  out  an  hereafter, 

And  intimates  eternity  to  man.”  1 

1  Addison’s  “  Cato.” 


50 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


“  The  strongest  argument  ”  in  favor  of  immortality,  says 
Cicero,  “  is  that  Nature  herself  is  tacitly  persuaded  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul ;  which  appears  from  that  great 
concern,  so  generally  felt  by  all,  for  what  shall  happen  after 
death.” 

Alger  summarizes  the  argument,  and  at  the  same  time 
hints  at  the  answer,  as  follows  :  — 

“It  is  obvious  that  man  is  endowed  at  once  with  fore¬ 
knowledge  of  death,  and  with  a  powerful  love  of  life.  It  is  not 
a  love  of  being  here  ;  for  he  often  loathes  the  scene  around  him. 
It  is  a  love  of  self-possessed  existence;  a  love  of  his  own  soul 
in  its  central  consciousness  and  bounded  royalty.  This  is  the 
inseparable  element  of  his  very  entity.  Crowned  with  free-will, 
walking  on  the  crest  of  the  world,  enfeoffed  with  individual 
faculties,  served  by  vassal  nature  with  tributes  of  various  joy, 
he  cannot  bear  the  thought  of  losing  himself,  or  of  sliding  into 
the  general  abyss  of  matter.  His  inferior  consciousness  is 
permeated  with  a  self-preserving  instinct,  and  shudders  at  every 
glimpse  of  danger  or  hint  of  death.  The  soul,  pervaded  with  a 
guardian  instinct  of  life,  and  seeing  death’s  steady  approach 
to  destroy  the  body,  necessitates  the  conception  of  an  es¬ 
cape  into  another  state  of  existence.  Fancy  and  reason,  thus 
set  at  work,  speedily  construct  a  thousand  theories  filled  with 
details.  Desire  first  fathers  the  thought,  and  then  thought 
woos  belief.” 

As  I  have  before  intimated,  this  is  the  strongest  of  all  the 
old  arguments  in  favor  of  immortality.  It  is  a  valid  argu¬ 
ment  as  far  as  it  goes,  for  it  is  an  observable  phenomenon 
—  an  instinct  —  of  the  human  mind  which  points  in  the 
direction  of  a  future  life.  But  whilst  it  is  a  valid  argument, 
it  is  not  conclusive,  for  the  reason  that  it  lacks  the  one 
essential  element  of  a  conclusive  argument.  A  phenomenon 
can  only  be  said  to  be  a  conclusive  demonstration  of  the 
truth  of  a  proposition  when  there  remains  no  other  way  of 
accounting  for  the  phenomenon.  This  is  true,  a  fortiori, 
when  we  are  seeking  to  account  for  a  mundane  phenomenon 
by  referring  it  to  a  supermundane  cause.  Thus,  if  man 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


51 


and  man  only,  desired  to  live,  and  if  his  desire  for  life  had 
reference  only  to  an  existence  beyond  the  grave,  and  if  that 
desire  were  clearly  shown  to  be  instinctive  and  universal, 
then  it  might  be  said  to  be  a  conclusive  argument  in  sup¬ 
port  of  the  hypothesis  of  a  future  life.  But  this  “  instinctive 
desire,”  which  so  strongly  possesses  the  mind  of  a  man,  for 
a  future  life,  is  easily  accounted  for  by  reference  to  that 
instinct  of  self-preservation  which  is  proverbially  “  the  first 
law  of  nature,”  is  common  to  all  physical  organisms,  and  is 
no  stronger  in  man  than  it  is  in  the  lowest  order  of  animal 
life.  Man,  however,  recognizes  the  fact  that  his  physical 
organism  must  perish;  but,  in  the  egotism  of  his  manhood, 
he  rebels  against  the  thought  of  dying  as  the  brute  dieth. 
He  looks  upon  himself  as  the  crowning  glory  of  physical 
nature.  He  counts  and  measures  the  steps  of  his  evolution 
from  the  primordial  germ,  compares  the  brief  span  of  his 
existence  with  the  aeons  which  have  been  consumed  in  his 
production,  and  concludes  that  somehow  he  has  been 
cheated  by  dissembling  Nature  of  his  fair  proportion  of 
time  and  opportunity.  At  first  he  rebels  against  being 
classed  as  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  lower  organisms ;  but 
the  steps  of  his  evolution  are  too  plainly  defined  in  the 
structure  of  his  predecessors,  his  pedigree  is  too  clearly 
written  in  that  of  his  own,  to  admit  of  rational  doubt. 
Compelled  to  own  his  relationship  to  the  rest  of  animated 
Nature,  he  finds  consolation  in  the  thought  that,  whilst  he 
may  be  a  product  of  evolution,  he  is  no  longer  subject  to 
its  laws.  He  is  the  product  of  a  process.  He  is  like  a 
machine,  which  is  produced  by  means  of  a  great  variety  of 
processes,  but  is  emancipated  from  all  connection  with 
those  employed  in  its  construction  the  moment  it  is  com¬ 
pleted  and  sent  out  into  the  world  to  perform  its  functions. 
Thus,  it  is  argued,  is  mjin  emancipated  from  the  processes 
of  his  evolution  and  placed  upon  the  apex  of  Nature,  from 
which  point  his  only  means  of  further  progress  is  by  flight 


5 2  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 

into  some  unknown  region  where  the  object  of  his  creation 
can  be  accomplished.1 

With  such  assumptions  does  man  console  himself  for  his 
obvious  relationship  to  his  fellow  worms,  and  for  his  lack  of 
time  in  this  life  to  work  out  what  he  fondly  conceives  to  be 
his  mission  and  destiny.  He  ignores,  or  denies,  the  fact 
that  the  same  processes  of  evolution  which  produced  him 
are  still  at  work  in  himself  and  in  all  his  environment,  — 
the  same  survival  of  the  fittest,  though  modified  by  the 
state  of  his  progress  in  civilization ;  the  same  struggle  for 
life,  though  modified  by  the  element  of  an  enforced  altru¬ 
ism,  if  such  a  term  is  admissible,  which  compels  the  inclu¬ 
sion  of  his  race  in  the  object  of  his  struggle.  He  forgets, 
too,  that  the  same  element  which  he  is  pleased  to  term 
altruism  in  himself,  is  common  to  many  of  the  lower  ani¬ 
mals  ;  and  that  his  longing  for  a  future  life  may  be  traced 
to  that  instinct  of  self-preservation  which  he  possesses  in 
common  with  all  animated,  nay,  all  organic  Nature,  and 
without  which  the  world  would  soon  be  depopulated.  It 
seems  clear,  therefore,  that  instinctive  desire,  whilst  it  is  a 
valid  argument  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  very  far  from  being  con¬ 
clusive  ;  and  must,  therefore,  for  the  present,  be  classed  in 
the  same  category  with  many  other  phenomena  of  the 
human  mind  which  seem  to  point  in  the  direction  of  a 
supermundane  existence,  but  logically  fail  because  they  are 
explicable  by  reference  to  principles  of  natural  law  with 
which  the  world  is  well  acquainted. 


1  See  Fiske’s  “  Destiny  of  Man.: 


CHAPTER  III. 

SPIRITISM  AND  HYPNOTISM. 

The  Phenomena  of  Spiritism.  —  Scepticism  of  the  Church. — The 
Present  Attitude  of  Science.  —  Spiritistic  Phenomena  Genuine. — 
The  Two  Hypotheses.  —  The  Spirit  Medium  Self-Hypnotized. — 
The  Intelligence  Manifested.  —  Experimental  Hypnotism  produces 
the  same  Phenomena.  — The  Power  of  Telepathy.  — The  Law  of 
Suggestion.  —  Suggestion  controls  the  Medium.  —  The  Manu¬ 
facture  of  Mediums  by  Hypnotism.  —  The  Hypothesis  of  Duality 
of  Mind.  —  The  Objective  and  Subjective  Minds.  —  The  Condi¬ 
tion  of  the  Medium  and  the  Hypnotized  Subject  Identical. — 
They  are  governed  by  the  Same  Laws.  —  Socrates  as  a  Roman. — 
The  Spirit  of  “  Cantharides  ”  Invoked.  —  The  Medium  not  neces¬ 
sarily  Dishonest. —  The  Laws  of  Telepathy. 

T  HAVE  now  briefly  reviewed  a  few  of  the  leading  argu- 
*  ments  upon  which  the  Christian  world  has  built  its 
hopes  of  a  future  life.  I  have  endeavored  to  show  why  it 
is  that  none  of  them  are  convincing  to  the  minds  of  those 
who  are  accustomed  to  the  methods  of  reasoning  which  are 
applied  to  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  the  material  uni¬ 
verse.  It  has  been  shown  that  no  one  has  attempted  to 
apply  the  processes  of  induction  to  the  solution  of  the  great 
problem,  and  for  the  very  good  reason  that,  outside  of  Bibli¬ 
cal  records,  no  facts  have  been  adduced,  no  phenomena 
have  been  observed,  by  the  writers  on  the  subject  of  a  future 
life,  upon  which  immortality  for  mankind  can  be  legiti¬ 
mately  predicated.  We  now  approach  a  field  of  observation, 
however,  which  bristles  with  facts  and  phenomena  which 
millions  of  our  race  believe  to  be  demonstrative  of  a  life 


54 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


beyond  the  grave.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  I  allude  to 
the  phenomena  of  so-called  spiritism. 

It  has  been  customary  for  the  Christian  Church  to  ignore 
the  claims  of  spiritists  to  recognition  as  fellow-workers  in 
the  realm  of  spiritual  philosophy.  It  has  derided  their  pre¬ 
tensions  to  an  experimental  knowledge  of  the  truth  of  one 
of  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  namely, 
the  doctrine  of  immortal  life.  It  has  persistently  denied 
the  genuineness  of  their  phenomena ;  or,  where  compelled 
to  admit  the  verity  of  the  manifestations  (which  differ  in 
no  essential  particular  from  those  recorded  in  Holy  Writ),  it 
has  attributed  them  to  diabolical  agency.  Scientists,  until 
within  a  very  few  years,  have  been  content  with  a  general 
denial  of  the  existence  of  the  phenomena,  and  a  disdainful 
refusal  to  investigate.  Their  attitude  is  identical  with  that 
of  one  of  their  number,  who,  when  called  upon  to  explain  the 
phenomenon  of  the  fall  of  meteoric  stones,  exclaimed : 
“  There  are  no  stones  in  the  air ;  therefore  no  stones  fall 
from  the  air.”  The  materialistic  scientist  says,  “  There  are 
no  spirits;  therefore  there  are  no  spiritistic  phenomena.” 

Happily  for  mankind,  and  much  to  the  credit  of  a  vast 
number  of  consistent  members  of  the  Christian  Church,  as 
well  as  of  thousands  of  the  ablest  scientists  in  the  civilized 
world,  this  attitude  is  no  longer  popular,  but  is  fast  giving 
way  to  one  of  intelligent  and  honest  investigation.  This 
change  is  largely  due  to  the  London  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,  which  comprises  among  its  members  a  large 
number  of  scientists  whose  reputation  as  careful  investigators 
in  the  realm  of  natural  science  is  international.  The  result 
is  that  there  is  no  longer  a  rational  doubt  of  the  genuine¬ 
ness  of  so-called  spiritistic  phenomena  among  those  who 
have  taken  the  trouble  to  apply  the  strict  rules  of  scien¬ 
tific  inquiry  to  the  subject-matter.  They  declare  that  no 
phenomenon  in  the  realm  of  physical  science  is  better 
authenticated  than  those  of  so-called  spiritism.  This  being 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


55 


true,  it  follows  that  the  causes  must  be  investigated  with 
the  same  care  and  in  the  same  spirit  of  candor  that  has 
characterized  the  investigation  of  the  fact ;  and  to  that  end 
the  millions  of  human  beings  who  have  claimed  a  super¬ 
mundane  origin  for  the  phenomena  are  entitled  to  a  respect¬ 
ful  hearing.  For,  if  their  hypothesis  is  demonstrably  true, 
the  question  of  spirit  life  is  no  longer  a  speculative  prob¬ 
lem  ;  and  if  it  is  not  true,  it  is  important  that  the  world 
should  know  to  what  power  or  law  of  Nature  the  phenomena 
are  to  be  attributed. 

In  dealing  with  the  phenomena  under  consideration  I  do 
not  propose  to  waste  the  time  of  the  reader  by  the  discus¬ 
sion  of  each  particular  phase  of  manifestation.  A  volume 
of  the  size  of  this  would  be  all  too  small  to  discuss  exhaust¬ 
ively  the  many-sided  problem,  or  to  explain  the  various 
characteristics  of  the  phenomena.  Besides,  it  would  be 
but  a  repetition  of  what  I  have  already  done  in  another 
work.1  It  will  only  be  necessary  here  to  discuss  the  one 
salient  feature  which  is  common  to  all  the  phenomena ; 
and  that  is  the  intelligence  which  is  manifested.  This  intel¬ 
ligence  claims  to  be  from  the  denizens  of  another  world ; 
and  spiritists  hold  that  there  is  indubitable  evidence  in  the 
manifestations  themselves  that  they  proceed  from  spirits  of 
the  dead. 

It  will,  however,  be  necessary  to  discuss  the  subject  of 
spiritism  at  some  length,  for  the  reason  that  in  the  consid¬ 
eration  of  scientific  problems  it  is  of  the  very  first  impor¬ 
tance  that  the  phenomena  under  consideration  should  be 
properly  classified.  There  are  two  hypotheses  employed  to 
account  for  so-called  spiritistic  phenomena.  One  is  that 
they  proceed  from  disembodied  spirits  ;  and  the  other  is 
that  they  are  produced  by  the  conscious  or  unconscious 

1  For  a  full  discussion  of  the  various  phases  and  characteristics  of 
spiritism  and  other  psychic  phenomena,  see  the  author’s  work  entitled 
“  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena.” 


5^ 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


exercise  of  powers  inherent  in  the  living  man  ;  and  that  the 
known  powers  of  the  embodied  human  soul  are  sufficient  to 
account  for  all  that  is  mysterious  in  the  phenomena.  Both 
these  hypotheses  cannot  be  true.  One  must  be  true  and 
the  other  false.  There  can  be  no  compromise,  as  some 
spiritists  would  have  us  believe.  They  are  not  concurrent 
hypotheses.  They  are  absolutely  antagonistic.  Hence  the 
importance  of  properly  classifying  the  phenomena  at  the 
threshold  of  our  argument.  For  if  it  is  found  that  they  are 
produced  by  the  living,  then  we  have  a  solid  basis  of  fact 
from  which  we  can  deduce  the  most  momentous  conclusions 
regarding  the  destiny  of  man.  But  if  it  can  be  demon¬ 
strated  that  the  whole,  or  any  part,  of  spiritistic  phenomena 
are  produced  by  disembodied  spirits,  the  whole  subject  is 
thrown  into  logical  chaos ;  for  a  future  life  for  man  is  not 
demonstrated  by  showing  that  spirits  communicate  with  the 
living,  —  for  the  very  obvious  reason  that  we  still  have  no 
means  of  determining  whether  any  communicating  spirit  is 
that  of  one  who  has  once  lived  upon  the  earth,  or  is  an 
“  evil  spirit,”  or  an  “  elemental,”  or  an  “  elementary,”  or  a 
“  devil,”  or  any  other  of  the  denizens  of  the  other  world 
with  which  it  has  been  peopled  by  superstition. 

It  is  well  known  to  all  observers  of  spiritistic  phenomena 
that  the  one  essential  prerequisite  to  their  production  is  the 
presence  of  a  so-called  “  medium.”  The  term  “  medium  ” 
has  been  bestowed  upon  those  who  are  instrumental  in  the 
production  of  the  phenomena,  because  of  the  assumption 
that  the  intelligence  conveyed  is  from  spirits  of  the  dead  to 
the  living.  The  instrument  through  which  these  messages 
are  conveyed  is,  therefore,  designated  as  a  “medium.”  This 
term,  consequently,  implies  a  theory  of  causation  ;  and  as  it 
is  better  to  avoid  giving  an  implied  assent  to  any  theory  by 
the  employment  of  a  careless  terminology,  I  shall  hereinafter 
employ  the  more  non-committal  term  of  psychic  to  designate 
the  person  in  whose  presence  these  manifestations  occur. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  57 

The  psychic  is  usually  seated  at  a  table  around  which 
several  others  are  gathered,  and  the  collective  company  is 
designated  as  a  “  circle.”  After  all  are  seated  and  quiet  is  se¬ 
cured,  the  psychic  enters  into  a  state  which  may  be  described 
by  the  generic  term  of  trance.  This  state,  it  may  be  pre¬ 
mised,  is  identical  with  that  of  hypnosis,  and  it  varies  in 
depth  from  that  of  an  apparently  normal  condition  to  that 
of  profound  objective  insensibility.  This  condition  is  self- 
induced,  and  during  its  continuance  various  phenomena  are 
produced ;  though  each  psychic  is  usually  confined  to  one 
class  of  manifestations.  In  the  presence  of  some  psychics 
percussive  sounds  are  heard,  called  “  spirit  raps.”  These 
are  sometimes  heard  on  the  table,  at  other  times  on  the 
floor,  or  on  the  walls,  ceiling,  or  furniture  of  the  room.  In 
presence  of  other  psychics  the  table  is  tilted,  and  often¬ 
times  it  levitates  into  the  air  without  physical  contact  with 
any  one.  Some  psychics  write  automatically ;  that  is,  they 
seize  a  pencil  and  write,  their  hand  seemingly  being  moved 
by  an  extraneous  force  which  acts  independently  of  the 
conscious  volition  of  the  psychic. 

It  would  be  tedious  even  to  enumerate  the  different  forms 
which  these  manifestations  assume,  and  it  would  be  foreign 
to  my  purpose  to  do  so ;  but  there  is  one  characteristic 
common  to  all  the  phenomena.  They  all  manifest  intelli¬ 
gence,  and  this  intelligence  is  almost  invariably  exercised 
independently  of  the  conscious  volition  of  the  psychic.  If 
the  psychic  is  what  is  known  as  a  “  writing  medium,”  mes¬ 
sages  will  be  written  purporting  to  emanate  from  spirits  of 
the  dead ;  and  the  information  conveyed  will  often  tran¬ 
scend  the  conscious  knowledge  of  the  psychic,  and  some¬ 
times  the  messages  will  convey  information  not  in  the 
conscious  possession  either  of  the  psychic  or  of  any  one 
else  in  the  room.  So  perfect  is  the  automatism  of  some 
psychics  that  they  will  write  long  messages,  characterized  by 
more  than  ordinary  intelligence  and  by  perfect  coherency. 


53 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


and  at  the  same  time  carry  on  an  animated  conversation 
with  others  in  the  room,  and  on  a  subject  entirely  foreign 
to  that  of  the  message  which  they  are  writing.  Others  have 
been  known  to  write  normally  on  one  subject  with  the  right 
hand,  while  at  the  same  time  the  left  was  automatically 
writing  a  message  on  another  subject,  the  latter  purporting 
to  emanate  from  the  spirit  of  some  one  who  is  dead. 

In  fact,  the  intellectual  feats  performed  by  some  psychics 
almost  transcend  belief,  and,  were  they  not  abundantly  au¬ 
thenticated  by  the  most  severe  scientific  tests,  would  be 
unworthy  of  credence.  As  it  is,  they  demand  investigation 
by  the  strictest  rules  of  logical  induction,  with  the  view  of 
testing  the  validity  of  the  hypothesis  that  they  are  of  super¬ 
mundane  origin.  In  doing  so  we  should  always  bear  in 
mind  the  fundamental  axiom  of  science  that  we  have  nei¬ 
ther  occasion  nor  logical  right  to  attribute  any  phenomenon 
to  supermundane  agency  if  it  is  explicable  by  reference  to 
natural  laws.  On  the  other  hand,  if  they  cannot  be  thus 
explained,  those  who  hold  to  the  supermundane  explanation 
have  a  right  to  demand  that  their  hypothesis  shall  be  pro¬ 
visionally  accepted.  A  fact  is  a  fact,  and  a  psychic  fact  is 
just  as  much  a  fact  as  a  waxing  and  waning  moon.  Science 
has  no  more  right  to  ignore  the  one  than  the  other.  No 
fact  in  Nature  can  safely  be  ignored,  for  no  fact  is  wholly 
insignificant.  Each  is  so  inseparably  bound  up  with  the 
others  that  if  even  the  most  apparently  unimportant  fact  is 
left  out  of  consideration,  inextricable  confusion  is  likely  to 
follow.  An  apparently  insignificant  fact  is  like  a  cipher  in 
arithmetic.  Separately  considered,  it  has  no  value ;  but  in 
its  proper  place  it  increases  the  value  of  the  other  figures 
tenfold.  Drop  one  out  at  any  given  point,  and  the  whole 
calculation  results  in  a  wrong  conclusion.  This  is  why  the 
old  psychology  is  incomplete,  confused,  and  unsatisfactory. 
It  was  built  up  on  a  basis  of  speculative  philosophy,  and, 
necessarily,  in  utter  ignorance  of  a  vast  array  of  psychic 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  59 

facts  and  principles  which  have  transpired  and  been  discov¬ 
ered  within  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

It  is  the  same  with  speculative  theology.  Never,  before 
the  development  of  experimental  psychology,  has  it  been 
possible  to  demonstrate,  with  anything  like  scientific  accu¬ 
racy,  the  fact  that  man  has  a  soul.  With  the  advent, 
however,  of  hypnotism,  mesmerism,  and  cognate  psychic 
phenomena,  all  has  been  changed  ;  and  it  is  now  possible  to 
demonstrate  the  truth  of  many  propositions  that  have  here¬ 
tofore  lain  wholly  in  the  realm  of  speculative  philosophy,  or 
have  been  relegated  by  the  scientific  world  to  the  domain 
of  superstition.  New  discoveries  are  constantly  being  made 
in  the  psychic  world,  —  discoveries  which  promise  soon  to 
place  psychology  fairly  within  the  domain  of  the  exact 
sciences.  Then  will  man,  in  the  truest  sense,  be  enabled  to 
“look  through  Nature  up  to  Nature’s  God,”  not  by  means 
of  vain  analogies  drawn  from  the  realm  of  gross  material 
existence,  but  by  studying  his  own  powers  and  attributes. 
The  divine  pedigree  of  man  and  his  title-deed  to  immortal 
life  are  written  upon  the  tablets  of  his  own  soul,  and  not 
upon  the  wings  of  the  Lepidoptera. 

Experimental  hypnotism  demonstrates  several  important 
characteristics  of  man’s  mental  organization  which  throw  a 
flood  of  light  upon  many  obscure  problems  of  psychology. 
The  first  and  most  important  of  these  characteristics  is  the 
fact  that  man  possesses  a  dual  mental  organization.  This  is 
an  old  doctrine  which  has  been  held  by  speculative  philoso¬ 
phers  from  Plato  down  to  the  present  day ;  but  it  was 
never  scientifically  demonstrated  until  hypnotism  revealed 
it  as  a  law  of  the  human  intellect.  When  a  person  is  per¬ 
fectly  hypnotized,  his  objective  senses  are  put  to  sleep.  He 
■can  neither  hear,  see,  smell,  taste,  nor  feel,  except  at  the 
will  of  the  hypnotist  who  induces  the  lethargy.  At  the 
bidding  of  the  latter,  however,  the  subject  can  be  roused  to 
a  state  of  intense  activity  and  power.  His  mind  then 


6o 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


seems  to  be  completely  transformed,  and  to  possess  powers 
and  attributes  which  were  entirely  foreign  to  the  subject  in 
his  normal  condition.  His  memory  is  exalted,  and  in 
many  cases  it  seems  to  be  practically  perfect.  In  many 
instances  he  develops  the  power  of  telepathy,  —  that  is, 
the  power  to  read  the  mind  of  the  operator,  or  of  any 
one  with  whom  he  is  en  rapport.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  important  things  to  be  remembered  in  this  connec¬ 
tion.  The  power  of  reading  the  minds  of  those  with 
whom  the  hypnotized  person  comes  in  mental  contact  is 
the  master  key  which  unlocks  many  of  the  grand  mys¬ 
teries  of  psychic  phenomena.  That  power,  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  perfection  of  ‘  his  memory,  constitutes  a 
salient  feature  of  the  accomplishments  of  every  well- 
developed  psychic. 

There  is,  however,  another  characteristic  of  the  psychic’s 
mind  when  in  the  hypnotic  or  partially  hypnotic  state, 
which  constitutes  the  greatest  and  most  important  discovery 
of  modern  experimental  psychology.  It  is  this  :  when  hyp¬ 
notized,  the  subject  is  constantly  amenable  to  control  by 
suggestion ;  that  is  to  say,  he  accepts  as  absolutely  true 
every  statement  that  is  made  to  him.  Thus,  if  he  is  told 
that  he  is  the  President  of  the  United  States,  he  will 
immediately  accept  the  statement  as  true,  and  assume  all 
the  airs  of  importance  and  dignity  that  he  may  conceive  to 
be  the  legitimate  concomitant  of  that  more  or  less  exalted 
position.  If  he  is  then  told  that  he  is  a  street  mendicant, 
he  will  immediately  change  his  demeanor  and  assume  an 
attitude  of  humble  suppliancy.  In  short,  he  may  be  made 
to  believe  that  he  is  anything,  animate  or  inanimate,  and 
he  will  act  the  part  suggested  with  wonderful  fidelity  to 
nature,  just  so  far  as  his  knowledge  of  the  characteristics  of 
the  person  or  thing  suggested  extends.  Thus,  if  it  is  sug¬ 
gested  that  he  is  some  one  of  his  intimate  acquaintances, 
he  will  immediately  proceed  to  imitate  all  the  salient 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


6l 


peculiarities  of  his  friend  in  voice,  tone,  gesture,  and 
favorite  topics  of  conversation. 

Again,  it  may  be  suggested  to  him  that  he  is  the  spirit  of 
some  deceased  friend  or  acquaintance.  It  matters  not. 
He  will  confidently  believe  the  suggestion  to  be  literally 
true,  and  will  assume  the  characteristics  of  the  deceased, 
and  will,  if  interrogated,  give  a  full  account  of  his  surround¬ 
ings  in  the  spirit  world,  albeit  his  account  of  his  spirit 
abode  will  be  in  exact  accordance  with  his  own  precon¬ 
ceived  ideas  on  that  subject.  In  other  words,  the  sugges¬ 
tions  embraced  in  his  education  will  give  character  to  his 
account  of  his  imaginary  spirit  environment.  These  facts 
are  well  known  to  all  hypnotists ;  and  any  one  familiar  with 
the  works  of  the  mesmerists  of  the  first  half  of  the  present 
century  will  recall  a  thousand  instances  illustrating  what 
has  been  said.  Those  works  were  written,  and  the  experi¬ 
ments  made,  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  inexorable  law  of 
suggestion  ;  and,  hence,  many  believed  that  the  mesmerized 
subjects  were  actually  in  communication  with  the  spirit 
world.  One  man 1  devoted  his  life  to  hypnotizing  people, 
sending  them  to  the  spirit  land,  and  recording  their  ac¬ 
counts  of  what  they  saw.  It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that 
his  book  was  for  many  years  a  standard  authority  among 
spiritists,  —  a  book  of  reference,  by  consulting  which  all 
disputed  questions  relating  to  the  topography,  sociology, 
or  climatology  of  the  spirit  world  could  be  definitely 
settled. 

Again,  it  is  well  known  to  hypnotists  that  a  suggestion  to 
a  subject  that  he  is  under  the  control  of  a  spirit  will  result 
in  the  production  of  all  the  phenomena  of  spirit  medium- 
ship,  limited  only  by  his  lack  of  training  as  a  psychic.  It 
is  also  well  known  that  the  quickest  and  surest  way  to  train 
a  psychic  for  spirit  mediumship  is  to  hypnotize  him  often 
enough  to  produce  the  requisite  neurotic  condition,  accom- 
1  Cahagnet. 


62 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


panying  each  hypnotization  with  suggestions  of  spirit  pres¬ 
ence  and  spirit  control.  Other  things  being  equal,  the 
best  psychics  are  those  who  have  been  developed  by  hyp¬ 
notic  processes.  It  is  perfectly  easy  by  suggestion  to  train 
a  psychic  to  habits  of  self-hypnotization ;  and  when  that  is 
accomplished,  he  is  ready  to  enter  the  field  as  a  full-fledged 
medium  of  communication  between  the  two  worlds. 

It  is  impossible  within  the  space  at  my  command  to  give 
even  a  rcsumL  of  the  many  characteristics  of  the  hypno¬ 
tized  subject  which  go  to  establish  the  fact  of  duality  of 
mind.  Nor  does  it  matter,  for  the  purposes  of  this  dis¬ 
cussion,  whether  we  regard  man  as  being  possessed  of  two 
minds,  each  possessing  independent  powers  and  attributes, 
or  regard  his  one  mind  as  being  possessed  of  certain 
diverse  powers  which  manifest  themselves  differently  under 
varying  conditions.  The  fact  remains,  however,  that  every¬ 
thing  happens  just  as  though  man  were  possessed  of  a  dual 
mind ;  and  we  have  a  logical  right,  therefore,  to  assume  it 
to  be  true  as  a  provisional  hypothesis.  Besides,  having 
fully  discussed  that  question  elsewhere,1  I  cannot,  without 
unseemly  repetition,  discuss  it  exhaustively  here. 

I  have  assumed,  therefore,  that  man  possesses  a  dual 
mind.  For  the  sake  of  clearness,  as  well  as  for  the  want 
of  a  better  term,  I  have  designated  one  as  the  “  objective 
mind  ”  and  the  other  as  the  “subjective  mind.” 

“  The  objective  mind  takes  cognizance  of  the  objective 
world.  Its  media  of  observation  are  the  five  physical  senses. 

“  The  subjective  mind  takes  cognizance  of  its  environment 
by  means  independent  of  the  physical  senses.  It  perceives  by 
intuition.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  emotions,  and  the  storehouse  of 
memory.  It  performs  its  highest  functions  when  the  objective 
senses  are  in  abeyance.  In  a  word,  it  is  that  intelligence  which 
makes  itself  manifest  in  a  hypnotic  subject  when  he  is  in  a  state 
of  somnambulism.” 2 

1  See  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena.” 

2  Op.  cit.  p.  29. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


<53 


In  adopting  this  terminology  I  have  merely  followed  that 
of  Averroes,  as  given  by  Professor  Draper  in  his  “  Conflict 
between  Religion  and  Science ;  ”  although  the  meaning 
which  he  attaches  to  his  term  —  “objective  intellect’’  — 
differs  materially  from  that  of  my  definition  of  the  objective 
mind.  His  term  —  “  subjective  intellect  ”  —  is  explained 
as  follows :  — 

“  The  individual,  or  passive,  or  subjective  intellect  is  an  ema¬ 
nation  from  the  universal,  and  constitutes  what  is  termed  the 
soul  of  man.” 

This  perfectly  expresses  my  belief  regarding  the  subjective 
mind.  It  not  only  possesses  powers  and  functions  which 
act  independently  of  those  of  the  objective  mind,  but  its 
very  manifestation  shows  it  to  be  a  distinct  entity,  and 
apparently  capable  of  maintaining  an  existence  indepen¬ 
dently  of  the  body.  It  is  a  spark  of  the  Divine  Intelligence. 
It  is  the  soul. 

I  have  now  sufficiently  enlarged  upon  the  subject  of  the 
dual  hypothesis  to  enable  the  intelligent  reader  to  grasp 
my  meaning.  The  law  of  suggestion  has  also  been  clearly 
explained.  It  has  also  been  shown  that  telepathy,  or  mind¬ 
reading,  is  a  power  of  the  hypnotized  subject.  The  three 
propositions  of  my  hypothesis,  therefore,  stand  thus  :  — 

1.  Man  is  possessed  of  a  dual  mind,  —  objective  and 
subjective. 

2.  The  subjective  mind  is  constantly  amenable  to  control 
by  suggestion. 

3.  Telepathy  is  a  power  of  the  subjective  mind. 

With  these  three  fundamental  propositions  clearly  before 
us,  we  are  prepared  intelligently  to  compare  the  phenomena 
of  spiritism  with  those  of  hypnotism,  with  the  view  of  a 
candid  inquiry  whether  there  is  any  phenomenon  produced 
by  the  one  that  cannot  be  reproduced  by  the  other.  Or,  to 
put  it  in  another  form,  is  there  anything  in  the  phenomena 


64 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


of  spiritism  that  cannot  be  explained  by  reference  to  the 
known  powers  inherent  in  the  living  man  as  developed  by 
and  through  the  science  of  hypnotism  ? 

A  brief  comparison  of  the  two  classes  of  phenomena  will 
make  a  prima  facie  case  against  the  spiritistic  hypothesis. 
It  would,  however,  be  more  in  accordance  with  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  logical  scientific  investigation  to  say  that  the  spirit¬ 
istic  hypothesis  is,  prima  facie ,  untrue,  and  that  the  onus 
probandi  is  upon  those  who  claim  a  supermundane  origin 
for  any  phenomenon  whatever.  But  we  will  waive  our  logical 
rights  for  the  moment,  and  proceed  to  assume  the  burden 
of  proof. 

In  the  first  place,  the  condition  of  the  psychic  when 
producing  spiritistic  phenomena  is  identical  with  that  of  the 
hypnotized  subject.  The  only  difference  between  the  two 
is  not  in  the  condition,  but  in  the  method  of  inducing  the 
condition.  Both  are  hypnotized ;  but  the  psychic  is  self- 
hypnotized  by  an  auto-suggestion,  whereas  the  hypnotic  sub¬ 
ject  is  hypnotized  by  the  suggestion  of  another.  It  is  well 
known,  however,  that  any  hypnotic  subject  can  easily  be 
trained  to  hypnotize  himself.  When  that  is  done,  all  the 
conditions  requisite  to  successful  “  mediumship  ”  are  present 
in  the  hypnotic  subject ;  and  if  he  believes  in  spiritism,  the 
suggestion  embraced  in  that  belief  will  do  the  rest.  It  may 
be  objected  that  the  spiritistic  psychic  often  produces  his 
phenomena  while  apparently  in  his  normal  condition.  To 
this  it  is  answered  that  there  are  also  an  infinite  number  of 
degrees  of  hypnotism  which  shade  into  each  other  imper¬ 
ceptibly,  ranging  from  the  apparently  normal  state  to  that 
of  profound  hypnotic  lethargy.  Thus,  Bernheim 1  was 
enabled  to  produce  “  all  suggestive  phenomena  up  to 
hallucination,”  while  the  patient  was  in  the  “  waking  condi¬ 
tion  ;  ”  that  is,  in  a  condition  that  could  not  be  distinguished 
from  the  normal  by  any  ordinary  tests.  That  the  subject 
1  Suggestive  Therapeutics,  pp.  79,  81,  83. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


65 


was  actually  hypnotized,  however,  was  demonstrated  by 
the  very  fact  that  he  was  controllable  by  suggestion.  In 
one  case  he  produced  such  a  perfect  state  of  analgesia,  by 
mere  suggestion,  the  patient  being  in  the  “  waking  condi¬ 
tion,”  that  the  application  of  Dubois  Raymond’s  electrical 
apparatus,  with  “the  greatest  current  attainable”  turned  on, 
produced  no  sensation  whatever ;  although,  as  Bernheim 
remarks,  “the  painful  sensation  thus  produced  is  normally 
unbearable.” 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  degree  of  hypnosis  has  no 
necessary  effect  upon  the  manifestations,  either  in  hypnotism 
proper,  or  in  the  psychic  phenomena  of  spiritism.  Practice 
in  each  case  seems  to  develop  the  suggestibility  of  the 
psychic  and  his  consequent  ability  to  produce  the  various 
phenomena  while  in  a  condition  apparently  closely  ap¬ 
proaching  the  normal. 

That  the  condition  of  the  psychic  and  that  of  the  hyp¬ 
notic  subject  are  identical,  is  further  demonstrated  by  the 
fact  that  they  are  governed  by  the  same  laws.  The  most 
important  of  these  laws  is  that  of  suggestion ;  and  all  the 
facts  of  spiritistic  phenomena  show  that  the  psychic  is 
constantly  dominated  by  that  subtle  power.  His  very 
entrance  into  the  psychic  state  is  produced  by  the  sugges¬ 
tion  embraced  in  his  belief  that  he  is  about  to  pass  under 
the  control  of  an  extraneous  force  which  he  believes  to  be 
a  spirit.  When  he  is  thus  self-hypnotized,  he  is  necessarily 
amenable  to  the  same  power.  This  is  clearly  shown  by  the 
well-known  fact  that  any  spirit  can  then  be  invoked  by  those 
present,  and  one  spirit  will  respond  just  as  readily  as  another. 
Besides,  the  spirit  of  a  living  man  will  respond  with  as  much 
alacrity  as  that  of  a  dead  man,  provided  the  question  is 
asked  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  the  psychic  to  believe  that 
the  bearer  of  the  name  is  dead.  Moreover,  the  spirit  of  a 
purely  imaginary  person  is  just  as  responsive  to  an  invoca¬ 
tion  as  any  other.  The  writer  once  attended  a  spiritistic 

5 


66 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


seance  presided  over  by  an  ignorant  psychic.  Some  one 
asked  for  the  spirit  of  Socrates  ;  and  the  old  philosopher 
promptly  responded.  His  communication  was  couched  in 
terms  that  were  evidently  intended  to  be  somewhat  lofty, 
and  were  so  considered  by  the  enthusiastic  admirers  of  the 
psychic ;  nor  was  their  admiration  at  all  diminished  by  the 
fact  that  Socrates  seemed  to  labor  under  the  impression 
that  he  was  a  Roman  when  on  earth.  This  was  afterwards 
explained  by  a  prominent  local  authority  in  spirit  philosophy 
by  saying  that  those  old  spirits  had  reached  an  altitude  so 
far  removed  from  earthly  life  that  they  were  no  longer 
interested  in  mundane  affairs,  and  many  of  them  had  really 
forgotten  their  earthly  names  and  nationality.  A  wag  who 
was  present  asked  for  a  communication  from  “  the  ancient 
Greek  philosopher,  Cantharides.”  This  request  was  also 
promptly  complied  with  in  an  equally  lofty  strain  of  bad 
English.  When  asked  for  a  description  of  the  latter  per¬ 
sonage,  the  psychic  described  an  old  man  with  long  white 
hair,  a  flowing  beard,  and  a  “very  high  forehead.”  This 
goes  to  show  either  that  the  psychic  was  dominated  by  an 
absurdly  false  suggestion,  or  that  evolution  is  more  rapid  in 
the  spirit  land  than  it  is  here ;  for  the  description  of  the 
personality  of  “  Cantharides  ”  certainly  did  not  suggest  a 
coleopterous  ancestry. 

To  do  the  psychic  entire  justice,  let  me  say  that  a  cir¬ 
cumstance  like  the  foregoing  does  not,  in  the  remotest 
degree,  impugn  his  honesty  or  sincerity.  He  is  in  a  hyp¬ 
notic  condition.  Being  in  that  state,  he  is  necessarily 
dominated  by  the  laws  pertaining  to  it.  His  normal  reason 
is  in  abeyance.  His  subjective  mind  is  active  ;  and  the 
one  all-potent,  never-failing  law  of  subjective  mental  activity 
is  the  law  of  suggestion.  Like  every  other  law  of  Nature, 
there  are  no  exceptions  to  its  inexorable  rules.  He  believes, 
because  he  must  believe,  every  suggestion  made  to  him. 
The  suggestion  enforced  by  the  current  theory  of  spiritism 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


67 


convinces  him  that  he  is  a  chosen  medium  of  spirit  com¬ 
munication  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  world.  His  reason 
confirms  the  belief;  for  he  finds  himself  dominated  by  what 
he  believes  to  be  an  extraneous  force  which  seems  to  act 
independently  of  his  conscious  volition.  This  force  is  found 
to  possess  a  remarkable  intelligence.  It  will  answer  ques¬ 
tions,  and  write  essays,  poems,  and  polemics  with  equal 
facility,  and  it  often  imparts  knowledge  and  divulges  secrets 
of  which  he  is  not  the  conscious  custodian.  It  gives  in¬ 
formation,  which  he  knows  he  never  could  have  possessed, 
concerning  the  affairs  of  his  auditors,  —  secrets,  perhaps, 
which  the  latter  declare  could  never  have  been  known  to 
any  but  themselves  and  some  deceased  friend.  When  the 
intelligence  is  interrogated,  it  declares  itself  to  be  the  dis¬ 
embodied  spirit  of  the  friend  who  was  the  joint  custodian  of 
the  sitter’s  secret. 

With  all  this  array  of  evidence  before  him,  not  only  of 
spirit  presence  but  of  spirit  identity,  what  is  his  natural 
conclusion  ?  He  is  not  a  scientist,  and  does  not,  therefore, 
know  that  it  is  unscientific  to  believe  that  man  has  a  soul. 
He  was  taught  at  his  mother’s  knee  that  he  not  only  has  a 
soul,  but  that  it  is  destined  to  an  immortal  existence.  He 
has  never  heard  of  the  dual  nature  of  the  mind  of  man,  he 
knows  nothing  of  the  law  of  suggestion,  and  “telepathy” 
is  not  in  his  vocabulary.  But  he  has  common  sense,  and 
he  is  not  aware  that  it  is  unscientific  to  exercise  it  when 
dealing  with  phenomena  which  he  cannot  explain  otherwise 
than  as  being  tangible  evidence  of  the  truth  of  what  he  has 
always  been  taught  to  believe  was  the  essence  of  the  teach¬ 
ings  of  Holy  Writ.  And  he  does  believe  it,  honestly  and 
implicitly.  It  is  henceforth  his  religion,  his  consolation  in 
this  life,  and  the  sheet  anchor  of  his  faith  in  immortality. 
With  all  the  evidence  before  him,  and  in  the  absence  of 
any  other  rational  explanation,  he  would  be  an  unreasoning 
sceptic  if  he  did  not  believe  it. 


68 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


It  will  thus  be  seen  what  an  all-potent  suggestion  domi¬ 
nates  his  subjective  mind.  By  virtue  of  the  fundamental 
law  of  its  being  it  must  accept  every  suggestion  imparted 
to  it,  however  absurd  or  contrary  to  objective  knowledge 
and  experience.  But  when  it  is  confirmed  by  objective 
reason  and  reinforced  by  the  tenderest  emotions  and  lofti¬ 
est  aspirations  of  the  human  soul,  it  becomes  a  dominant 
power  which  cannot  be  resisted.  In  this  state  of  mind, 
objective  and  subjective,  the  suggestion  that  a  spirit  from 
another  world  is  in  possession  of  the  psychic’s  hand  and 
guiding  its  movements,  is,  and  must  be,  seized  upon  by  his 
subjective  mind  and  implicitly  believed  and  acted  upon,  and 
the  suggested  spirit  personated  with  all  the  preternatural 
acumen  and  dramatic  circumstance  characteristic  of  subjec¬ 
tive  mental  activity.  If  it  were  not  so,  then  there  would 
be  a  break  in  the  operations  of  a  law  of  Nature,  —  an  excep¬ 
tion  to  the  universal  rule,  which  in  itself  would  constitute 
a  miracle  as  great  as  would  be  the  suspension  for  a  day  of 
the  law  of  gravitation. 

Another  fact  which  correlates  the  phenomena  produced 
by  the  spiritistic  psychic  with  those  of  hypnotism  is  that  the 
psychic  in  each  case  develops  the  power  of  telepathy,  or 
mind-reading.  I  shall  not  waste  time  in  this  connection 
by  offering  proofs  of  the  reality  of  this  power.  That  work 
has  been  most  thoroughly  done  by  the  Society  for  Psychi¬ 
cal  Research.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  at  this  time  that  no 
law  or  power  of  Nature  has  been  more  completely  and 
scientifically  demonstrated  than  has  been  the  law  of  telepa¬ 
thy.  There  is,  however,  one  important  principle  pertain¬ 
ing  to  the  subject-matter  which  must  be  understood  before 
the  full  significance  of  the  fact  relating  to  it  can  be  appre¬ 
ciated  or  comprehended.  Telepathy  is  the  means  of  com¬ 
munion  between  subjective  minds.  The  objective  mind 
does  not  necessarily  participate  in  the  communication. 
The  message,  in  other  words,  is  not  necessarily  on  a  sub- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


69 


ject  of  which  either  party  is  consciously  thinking.  It 
frequently  has  no  connection  whatever  with  the  conscious 
thoughts  of  either  of  the  participants  in  the  production  of 
the  phenomena.  A  message  of  the  utmost  importance  may, 
therefore,  never  rise  above  the  threshold  of  the  “  percipi¬ 
ent’s  ”  1  consciousness  or  even  be  consciously  sent  by  the 
“  agent.”  It  requires  some  degree  of  psychic  development 
to  enable  one  to  become  conscious  of  the  reception  of  a 
telepathic  message.  Hence  it  is  that  comparatively  few 
are  able  to  perceive  the  details  of  a  communication ; 
although  there  are  few  who  have  not  felt  an  unaccountable 
impression  which  is  afterwards  discovered  to  have  a  tele¬ 
pathic  origin,  or  is  classed  as  a  “  coincidence  ”  by  the 
sceptical.  It  requires  an  extraordinary,  even  an  abnormal 
development  of  psychic  power  to  enable  one  consciously  to 
read  the  thoughts  of  another  in  detail.  That  power  is 
possessed  by  few  outside  the  circle  of  so-called  spirit 
mediums,  and  of  those  who  have  developed  it  by  hypnotic 
processes  for  purposes  of  public  exhibition. 

It  is  thought  that  enough  has  been  said  to  correlate  the 
phenomena  of  spiritism  with  those  of  hypnotism,  at  least 
so  far  as  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  production  of  the 
two  classes  of  phenomena  are  concerned.  In  the  next 
chapter  the  principles  herein  set  forth  will  be  applied  to 
the  elucidation  of  the  phenomena  alleged  to  be  produced 
by  disembodied  spirits.  I  will  also  take  occasion  to  answer 
some  objections  urged  by  scientific  students  of  spiritism 
who  hold  that  there  is  still  a  “  small  residuum  ”  of  phe¬ 
nomena  which  is  not  explicable  by  reference  to  known 
laws  of  Nature. 

1  The  “percipient,”  in  the  vocabulary  of  psychic  science,  is  the 
one  to  whom  a  message  is  sent,  or  who  witnesses  a  phenomenon. 
The  “  agent  ”  is  the  one  who  sends  the  message,  or  produces  the 
phenomenon. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SPIRITISTIC  PHENOMENA. 

The  Typical  Seance.  —  “Test”  Cases.  —  The  Way  Proselytes  are 
made.  —  The  Telepathic  Explanation.  —  What  Telepathy  is. — 
Views  of  Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage  and  of  Mr.  F.  W.  If.  Myers. — 
TheirTest  Cases  Explained. — The  Small  Residuum  of  Phenomena 
which  they  cannot  account  for.  —  The  Shipwreck.  —  An  Alleged 
Spirit  Communication  from  a  Victim. —  A  Telepathic  Explanation. 
—  Telepathy  vs.  Clairvoyance.  —  A  Typical  Case.  —  “  Stretching” 
the  Theory  of  Telepathy.  —  Views  of  Mr.  Podmore. 

rT'lHE  following  propositions  have  now  been  provisionally 
1  established  :  — 

1 .  The  condition  of  the  spiritistic  psychic  or  “  medium  ” 
and  that  of  the  hypnotic  subject  are  identical  at  the  time 
when  their  respective  phenomena  are  produced. 

2.  That  condition  in  both  is  what  is  known  to  science  as 
hypnosis,  or  partial  hypnosis,  as  the  case  may  be. 

These  propositions  are  demonstrated  by  the  following 
facts  :  — 

1.  The  psychics  in  each  case  are  in  a  more  or  less  pro¬ 
found  state  of  objective  insensibility. 

2.  That  state  or  condition  in  each  case  is  induced  by 
suggestion. 

3.  In  each  case  the  psychic  is  constantly  amenable  to 
control  by  suggestion. 

4.  In  each  case  the  power  to  read  the  minds  of  others  is 
developed  by  persistence  in  the  practice  of  entering  the 
hypnotic  or  subjective  condition. 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  71 


It  has  also  been  established,  as  a  corollary  of  the  fore¬ 
going  propositions,  that  in  the  mind  of  each  psychic  a 
subjective  hallucination  can  be  induced  by  a  suggestion ; 
and  that  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  it  be  an  auto¬ 
suggestion,  a  telepathic  suggestion,  or  an  oral  suggestion. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  consume  much  time  in  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  these  facts  to  the  ordinary  manifestations  of  that 
intelligence  which  is  alleged  to  proceed  from  disembodied 
spirits.  It  may  not  be  amiss,  however,  to  present  an 
imaginary  case  exactly  corresponding  to  those  of  every-day 
experience.  The  dramatis  persona  are  a  well-developed 
psychic  and  a  client  who  is  seeking  for  tangible  evidence  of 
a  future  life,  and  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  a 
“  test  case  ”  of  spirit  identity.  He  is  full  of  hope  that 
he  may  be  put  in  possession  of  indubitable  evidence  of  the 
reality  of  spirit  intercourse  with  the  living,  for  he  longs  to 
establish  communication  with  the  loved  and  lost,  —  longs 
“  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand,  and  the  sound  of  a 
voice  that  is  still.”  But  he  does  not  mean  to  allow  his 
emotions  to  warp  his  judgment,  or  to  entertain  a  belief 
whose  parentage  can  be  traced  to  his  desires  alone.  Per¬ 
haps  he  has  heard  of  mind-reading,  and  feels  prepared  to 
detect  any  evidence  of  the  exercise  of  that  power,  or  of 
any  species  of  mental  legerdemain.  He  takes  care  in  the 
selection  of  a  psychic,  and  seeks  one  who  is  utterly 
ignorant  of  his  name,  local  habitation  and  antecedents. 
Having  found  one  possessing  all  the  necessary  qualifica¬ 
tions,  he  seats  himself  and  awaits  results. 

The  psychic  enters  the  subjective  state,  and  presently 
begins  his  revelation.  He  begins  by  making  an  exhaustive 
inventory  of  his  client’s  mental  qualifications,  whom  he 
asserts  to  be  a  man  of  exalted  character  and  gigantic  intel¬ 
lect.  He  tells  him  that  all  he  needs  is  opportunity  to  make 
his  mark  in  the  world ;  that  he  is  not  as  well  off  in  this 
world’s  goods  as  he  would  like  to  be,  but  that  fame  and 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


fortune  are  near  at  hand ;  that  he  is  a  fearless  investiga¬ 
tor,  but  is  not  easily  fooled,  etc.,  etc.  All  this,  however, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  client,  proves  nothing  but  the  good 
judgment  of  the  psychic  and  the  clearness  of  his  percep¬ 
tion  of  human  character.  Anybody  might  know  all  this  at 
a  glance,  for  that  matter.  It  is  not  even  good  evidence  of 
mind-reading. 

Presently  the  psychic  tells  the  client’s  name.  He  is 
somewhat  startled,  but  reflects  that  it  may  have  been  ob¬ 
tained  from  the  hotel  register,  or  that  it  may  be  mind-read¬ 
ing.  The  psychic  then  describes  a  spirit  of  which  he  sees  a 
vision,  relates  all  the  circumstances  of  the  death  and  burial 
of  the  person,  and,  perhaps,  states  the  name  of  the  deceased, 
the  relationship  borne  to  the  client,  and  many  little  details 
which  may  or  may  not  be  true.  In  its  important  features, 
however,  the  statement  is  exact.  It  is  the  very  person  the 
client  most  desires  to  communicate  with ;  but  he  is  not 
satisfied.  All  this  is  plainly  within  the  domain  of  mind¬ 
reading,  and  he  is  not  to  be  deceived.  But  he  is  interested 
and  hopeful,  and  asks  for  a  communication,  which  is  given. 
It  is  couched  in  endearing,  but  general  terms ;  plenty  of 
good  advice  is  given,  and  it  ends  in  a  rhapsodical  expres¬ 
sion  of  assurance  of  a  life  beyond  the  grave  and  of  a  happy 
reunion  when  life’s  fitful  fever  is  over.  The  client  is  much 
affected,  but  reflects  that  all  this  is  plainly  within  the  capa¬ 
city  of  the  psychic.  What  he  is  after  is  a  “  test,”  and  he  so 
informs  the  psychic.  Presently  the  “  spirit  ”  relates  some 
little  episode  which  the  client  knows  was  within  the  exclu¬ 
sive  knowledge  of  himself  and  the  deceased.  His  doubts 
begin  to  vanish ;  but  he  reflects  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
circumstance  was  in  his  mind,  although  he  does  not  re¬ 
member  of  having  thought  of  it  that  day.  The  test  is  not 
conclusive,  and  he  awaits  further  developments. 

Up  to  this  point  the  spiritist  of  average  intelligence  will 
agree  that  no  valid  evidence  of  spirit  identity  has  been 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  73 

forthcoming.  It  is  obviously  all  within  the  domain  and 
possibilities  of  telepathy. 

Presently  another  “  spirit  ”  appears  upon  the  scene.  The 
psychic  describes  it  with  great  minuteness,  and  finally  gives 
its  name.  The  client  is  confounded.  “  This  cannot  be 
mind-reading,”  he  soliloquizes,  “  for  I  have  not  thought  of 
that  man  for  twenty  years.”  He  has  crossed  the  Rubicon. 
The  limit  of  his  knowledge  of  telepathy  has  been  reached, 
and  to  him  it  is  no  longer  a  tenable  hypothesis.  As  if  to 
make  assurance  doubly  sure,  the  “  spirit  ”  recalls  a  business 
transaction  between  himself  and  the  client  which  took  place 
forty  years  agone.  The  client  racks  his  memory  in  vain  for 
a  trace  of  recollection  of  the  transaction.  He  does  not 
even  remember  of  ever  having  had  any  business  with  the 
deceased.  He  knows,  however,  that  he  has  the  means  of 
verifying  the  statement  if  it  is  true,  and  he  closes  the  stance 
and  hurries  home  to  institute  a  search  of  his  old  records. 
He  finds,  to  his  surprise  and  delight,  that  his  spirit  friend  is 
right  in  every  particular. 

A  proselyte  is  gained  for  spiritism.  Henceforth  he  haunts 
spirit  mediums,  and  spirit  mediums  haunt  him.  Perchance 
his  mind  is  not  so  warped  that  he  ceases  to  recognize  telep¬ 
athy  as  a  possible  factor  in  alleged  spirit  intercourse.  He 
may  even  admit  that  the  great  bulk  of  spiritistic  phenomena 
can  be  accounted  for  by  reference  to  telepathy ;  but  he 
holds  that  there  is  a  “small  residuum  ”  of  phenomena  that 
cannot  be  thus  explained. 

Until  within  a  very  few  years  it  would  have  been  impos¬ 
sible,  by  invoking  the  aid  of  telepathy,  to  account  for  the 
phenomena  which  converted  our  friend.  But  it  has  now 
been  ascertained  that  even  if  one  does  not  happen  to  be 
consciously  thinking  of  a  particular  spirit  when  that  spirit  is 
announced  and  correctly  described,  such  a  mental  condition 
does  not  militate  against  the  telepathic  theory.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  clear  that  what  one  is  consciously  thinking  of 


74 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


has  no  necessary  connection  with  the  subject  of  a  telepathic 
message.  Telepathy,  as  we  have  already  seen,  is  the  means 
of  communication  between  sub-conscious  intelligences  ;  and 
it  is  only  those  who  are  psychically  developed  who  can  be¬ 
come  conscious  of  the  operations  of  the  subjective  intel¬ 
ligence.  There  are  several  things  to  be  considered  in  this 
connection  :  — 

First,  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  the  subjective 
mind  that  reads,  and  is  read,  telepathically. 

Secondly,  the  memory  of  the  subjective  mind  is  prodigious 
and  practically  perfect ;  and  it  often  happens  that  circum¬ 
stances  entirely  forgotten  by  the  objective  mind  of  one  who 
consults  a  psychic  are  recalled  by  his  subjective  mind.  Hence 
it  is  that  when  the  client  declares  that  the  circumstance  never 
occurred,  and  afterwards  ascertains  that  he  was  mistaken, 
it  is  no  evidence  whatever  of  the  agency  of  disembodied 
spirits.  Moreover,  when  we  consider  the  perfection  of 
subjective  memory  and  the  imperfection  of  objective  recol¬ 
lection,  it  is  extremely  hazardous  for  any  one  to  say  positively 
that  he  never  knew  a  particular  circumstance  or  thing. 
Such  a  statement  can  only  be  accepted  as  evidence  that  he 
does  not  recall  the  fact  stated. 

Thirdly,  the  law  of  suggestion  is  an  important  factor  which 
must  be  considered  in  the  solution  of  the  mystery.  It  is 
obvious  that  when  two  subjective  intelligences  are  in  com¬ 
munication,  and  each  is  dominated  by  the  suggestions  of 
spiritism,  and  one  is  anxious  to  convince  the  objective  in¬ 
telligence  of  the  other  of  the  reality  of  spirit  intercourse, 
and  the  other  is  anxious  to  be  convinced  and  is  seeking  for 
a  test  case,  the  best  tests  within  the  combined  resources  of 
the  two  intelligences  are  more  than  likely  to  be  forthcoming. 
This  is  certainly  borne  out  by  the  experience  of  every  intel¬ 
ligent  investigator  of  the  phenomena  of  spiritism.  I  should 
not  consider  myself  justified  in  supposing  a  subjective  con¬ 
spiracy  to  be  possible,  even  under  the  inexorable  law  of 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


75 


suggestion,  if  a  case  of  spirit  identity  had  ever  been  made 
that  was  free  from  the  doubts  thrust  upon  us  by  the  known 
laws  of  telepathy  and  suggestion. 

Thus  far  I  have  said  nothing  the  essential  features  of 
which  scientific  investigators  of  the  phenomena  of  spiritism 
will  not  indorse.  Indeed,  I  believe  that  intelligent  spiritists 
very  generally  concede  that  phenomena  of  the  character 
outlined  in  the  foregoing  remarks  are  not  free  from  doubt ; 
and  they  are  ready  to  accept  substantially  the  explanation 
here  given.  I  now  approach  a  branch  of  the  subject,  how¬ 
ever,  about  which  the  most  scientific  investigators  of  the 
phenomena  are  at  variance.  It  has  been,  and  is  now,  my 
desire  and  purpose  to  avoid  controversial  argument  on  these 
topics ;  but  I  feel  impelled  by  my  very  respect  for  two 
gentlemen  who  have  arrived  at  slightly  different  conclusions 
from  mine,  to  place  my  views  alongside  of  theirs,  so  to  speak, 
in  order  to  allow  our  readers  to  judge  which  presents  the 
better  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  him.  I  do  so  for  the 
further  reason  that  my  desire  to  do  exact  justice  to  the 
cause  of  spiritism  impels  me  to  state  the  position  of  two  of 
its  ablest  champions  with  whose  views  I  am  acquainted. 
They  are  gentlemen  whose  reputation  for  learning  and  scien¬ 
tific  attainments  and  for  candor  and  transparent  honesty  of 
purpose  is  as  wide  as  civilization,  and  places  them  at  the 
head  of  the  list  of  scientific  champions  of  the  cause  of 
spiritism.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  now  say  that  I  refer 
to  Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage,  of  Boston,  and  F.  W.  H.  Myers, 
of  London.  Neither  of  them  needs  any  introduction  to 
the  English-speaking  world.  To  Mr.  Myers  the  world  owes 
more  than  it  can  ever  repay  for  his  indefatigable  and  purely 
scientific  labors  as  Secretary  of  the  London  Society  for 
Psychical  Research.  To  Mr.  Savage  the  world  owes  much 
for  his  championship  of  free  thought,  and  of  progress  in 
every  field  of  human  endeavor. 

If  I  understand  the  views  of  Mr.  Savage  and  Mr.  Myers, 


76 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


they  agree  in  their  interpretation  of  such  phenomena  as  I 
have  outlined,  and  each  would  offer  substantially  the  same 
explanation  that  I  have  suggested.  But  at  this  point  our 
paths  diverge.  Each  of  those  gentlemen  is  willing  to  admit 
that  when  a  psychic  transmits  a  message  to  his  client  con¬ 
taining  information  which  is  in  his  (the  psychic’s)  posses¬ 
sion,  it  cannot  reasonably  be  attributed  to  the  agency  of 
disembodied  spirits.  Each  is  also  willing  to  admit  that 
when  the  message  contains  facts  known  to  some  one  in 
his  immediate  presence  and  with  whom  he  is  en  i-apport, 
the  agency  of  spirits  of  the  dead  cannot  be  presumed. 
Each  will  doubtless  admit  that  sub-conscious  memory  may 
enter  as  a  factor  in  the  case,  and  that  the  sub-conscious 
intelligence  —  or,  to  use  the  favorite  terminology  employed 
by  Mr.  Myers  to  designate  the  subjective  mind,  the 
“  subliminal  consciousness  ”  — of  the  psychic  or  that  of  his 
client  may  retain  and  use  facts  which  the  conscious,  or 
objective,  mind  may  have  entirely  forgotten.  All  these 
considerations,  and  many  others,  have  doubtless  entered 
into  the  calculations  of  both  those  gentlemen  when  esti¬ 
mating,  in  their  careful  and  severely  scientific  way,  the 
weight  of  evidence  for  and  against  the  hypothesis  of  spirit 
intercourse.  But  here  is  where  they  pause.  They  are  not 
willing  to  admit  that  telepathy  can  possibly  enter  as  a 
factor  in  the  case  when  the  message  contains  facts  not 
known  either  to  the  psychic  or  his  client  or  any  of  the 
psychic’s  friends.  I  will  now  let  Mr.  Savage  speak  for 
himself.  In  an  able  address 1  delivered  before  the  American 
Psychical  Society,  he  used  the  following  words  :  — 

“In  the  presence  of  psychics  I  have  been  told  things  which 
I  know  the  psychic  did  not  know  and  never  had  known.  There 
is  no  longer  the  least  shadow  of  a  doubt  of  that  in  my  mind. 
But  I  have  always  said  this  does  not  go  far  enough,  possibly 
this  may  mean  telepathy  only.  Although  the  psychic  is  not  a 

1  Psychical  Review,  vol.  i.  no.  I. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


77 


clairvoyant,  is  not  conscious  of  possessing  any  means  of  getting 
at  the  contents  of  my  mind,  yet  the  psychic’s  mind  may  be  a 
mirror  in  which  my  thoughts  and  knowledge  are  reflected,  and  I 
may  be  getting  back  only  what  I  have  given.  So  when  I  have 
gone  only  to  that  extent  I  have  felt  that  I  have  not  gone  far 
enough  to  convince  me  that  I  was  dealing  with  a  disembodied 
intelligence.  But  under  certain  conditions  I  have  gone  farther 
than  that ;  and  it  is  these  other  cases  that  we  are  always  look¬ 
ing  for  as  additional  proof,  —  these  cases  in  which  I  have 
received  communication  concerning  something  which  neither 
the  psychic  nor  myself  knew.  There  have  been  several  cases 
not  only  in  my  own  experience,  but,  more  still,  in  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  persons  whose  judgment  and  power  of  investigation  I 
trust  as  I  trust  my  own,  in  which  there  has  been  the  communi¬ 
cation  of  intelligence  that  neither  the  psychic  nor  the  sitter 
possessed  nor  ever  did  possess.  I  have  had  it  in  such  circum¬ 
stances  as  this.  I  have  had  communication  while  sitting  in  my 
study  concerning  things  that  were  taking  place  two  hundred 
miles  away.  Over  and  over  again  occurrences  like  this  have 
taken  place,  and  I  submit  that  my  knowledge  of  science  and 
philosophy  does  not  give  me  any  hint  of  an  explanation  for 
these  things.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  stretching  the  theory  of 
telepathy  and  clairvoyance  beyond  probability  to  call  them  in 
to  explain  them.  I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  them  except 
on  the  theory  that  some  third  and  invisible  intelligence  was 
concerned.” 

In  a  short  but  brilliant  essay 1  entitled  “  Science  and  a 
Future  Life,”  Mr.  Myers  thus  sums  up  his  own  views,  and 
locates  the  line  which  marks  the  boundary  between  the  two 
worlds  :  — 

“  I  am  further  strengthened  in  this  belief  by  the  study  of  the 
automatic  phenomena  briefly  noticed  above.  I  observe  that 
in  all  the  varieties  of  automatic  action  —  of  which  automatic 
writing  may  be  taken  as  a  prominent  type  —  the  contents  of  the 
messages  given  seem  to  be  derived  from  three  sources.  First 
of  all  comes  the  automatist’s  own  mind.  From  that  the  vast 
bulk  of  the  messages  are  undoubtedly  drawn,  even  when  they 
refer  to  matters  which  the  automatist  once  knew,  but  has  en- 

1  This  article  is  printed  in  a  volume  with  several  other  valuable 
essays  on  cognate  subjects  by  the  same  author. 


78 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


tirely  forgotten.  Whatever  has  gone  into  the  mind  may  come 
out  of  the  mind ;  although  this  automatism  may  be  the  only 
way  of  getting  at  it.  Secondly,  there  is  a  small  percentage  of 
messages  apparently  telepathic,  —  containing,  that  is  to  say, 
facts  probably  unknown  to  the  automatist,  but  known  to  some 
living  person  in  his  company,  or  connected  with  him.  But, 
thirdly,  there  is  a  still  smaller  residuum  of  messages  which  I 
cannot  thus  explain,  —  messages  which  contain  facts  apparently 
not  known  to  the  automatist  nor  to  any  living  friend  of  his,  but 
known  to  some  deceased  person,  perhaps  to  a  total  stranger  to 
the  living  man  whose  hand  is  writing.  I  cannot  avoid  the  con¬ 
viction  that  in  someway  —  however  dreamlike  and  indirect  — 
it  is  the  departed  personality  which  originates  such  messages  as 
these.” 

Here  we  have  the  clear  and  concise  statements  of  two 
men,  representatives,  respectively,  of  the  best  thought,  on 
that  side  of  the  question,  of  two  hemispheres,  each  defining 
the  same  limit  of  scientific  explanation,  on  mundane  prin¬ 
ciples,  of  spiritistic  phenomena.  These  gentlemen,  being, 
par  excellence,  the  representatives  of  scientific  spiritism 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  are  entitled  to  a  full  hear¬ 
ing  and  a  candid  and  respectful  consideration.  Their  views, 
however,  as  quoted  above,  are  stated  in  abstract  form,  and 
their  exact  meaning  may  not  be  readily  comprehended.  In 
order,  therefore,  that  the  reader  may  have  a  concrete  illus¬ 
tration  of  just  what  is  meant,  it  will  be  necessary  to  quote 
further  from  their  works.  Fortunately  for  our  purpose,  Mr. 
Savage  has  issued  a  volume  1  recently  which  is  filled  with 
well-authenticated  facts  which  the  author  of  the  book 
cannot  explain  by  reference  to  telepathy.  I  select  at 
random  the  following  case,  which  is  fairly  illustrative  of 
the  “  sticking  point  ”  in  its  most  pronounced,  not  to  say 
virulent,  form.  In  order  to  do  Mr.  Savage  complete 
justice,  I  copy  the  entire  narrative,  including  his  comments. 

“  My  next  story  goes  far  beyond  any  of  these,  and  —  well, 

I  will  ask  the  reader  to  decide  as  to  whether  there  is  any  help 
1  Psychics:  Facts  and  Theories.  Arena  Publishing  Co. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  79 

in  hypnotism  or  clairvoyance  or  mind-reading,  or  any  of  the 
selves  of  the  psychic,  conscious  or  sub-conscious. 

“Early  on  Friday  morning,  Jan.  18,  1884,  the  steamer 
‘  City  of  Columbus,’  en  route  from  Boston  to  Savannah,  was 
wrecked  on  the  rocks  off  Gay  Head,  the  southwestern  point  of 
Martha’s  Vineyard.  Among  the  passengers  was  an  elderly 
widow,  the  sister-in-law  of  one  of  my  friends,  and  the  mother  of 
another. 

“This  lady,  Mrs.  K.,  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  B.,  had  both  been 
interested  in  psychic  investigation,  and  had  held  sittings  with  a 
psychic  whom  I  will  call  Mrs.  E.  Mrs.  B.  was  in  poor  health, 
and  was  visited  regularly  for  treatment  on  every  Monday  by  the 
psychic,  Mrs.  E.  On  occasion  of  these  professional  visits, 
Mrs.  B.  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  K.,  would  frequently  have  a  sit¬ 
ting.  This  Mrs.  E.,  the  psychic,  had  been  known  to  all  the 
parties  concerned  for  many  years,  and  was  held  in  the  highest 
respect.  She  lived  in  a  town  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from 
Boston.  This,  then,  was  the  situation  of  affairs  when  the 
wreck  of  the  steamer  took  place. 

“The  papers  of  Friday  evening,  January  18,  of  course  con¬ 
tained  accounts  of  the  disaster.  On  Saturday,  January  19,  Dr. 
K.,  my  friend,  the  son  of  Mrs.  K.,  hastened  down  to  the  beach 
in  search  of  the  body  of  his  mother.  No  trace  whatever  was 
discovered.  He  became  .satisfied  that  she  was  among  the  lost, 
but  was  not  able  to  find  the  body.  Saturday  night  he  returned 
to  the  city.  Sunday  passed  by.  On  Monday  morning,  the 
21  st,  Mrs.  E.  came  from  her  country  home  to  give  the  custom¬ 
ary  treatment  to  her  patient,  Mrs.  B.  Dr.  K.  called  on  his 
aunt  while  Mrs.  E.  was  there,  and  they  decided  to  have  a 
sitting,  to  see  if  there  would  come  to  them  anything  that  even 
purported  to  be  news  from  the  missing  mother  and  sister. 
Immediately  Mrs.  K.  claimed  to  be  present;  and,  along  with 
many  other  matters,  she  told  them  three  separate  and  distinct 
things  which,  if  true,  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  either  of  them 
to  have  known. 

“  1.  She  told  them  that,  after  the  steamer  had  sailed,  she 
had  been  able  to  exchange  her  inside  stateroom  for  an  outside 
one.  All  that  any  of  them  knew  was  that  she  had  been 
obliged  to  take  an  inside  room,  and  that  she  did  not  want  it. 

“  2.  She  told  them  that  she  played  whist  with  some  friends 
in  the  steamer  saloon  during  the  evening ;  and  she  further  told 
them  the  names  of  the  ones  who  had  made  up  the  table. 

“  3.  Then  came  the  startling  and  utterly  unexpected  state- 


So 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


meat,  ‘  I  do  not  want  you  to  think  of  me  as  having  been 
drowned.  I  was  not  drowned.  When  the  alarm  came,  I 
was  in  my  berth.  Being  frightened,  I  jumped  up,  and  rushed 
out  of  the  stateroom.  In  the  passage-way  I  was  suddenly 
struck  a  blow  on  my  head,  and  instantly  it  was  over.  So  do 
not  think  of  me  as  having  gone  through  the  process  of  drown¬ 
ing.’  Then  she  went  on  to  speak  of  the  friends  she  had 
found,  and  who  were  with  her.  This  latter,  of  course,  could 
not  be  verified.  But  the  other  things  could  be.  It  was  learned, 
through  survivors,  that  the  matter  of  the  stateroom  and  the 
whist,  even  to  the  partners,  was  precisely  as  had  been  stated. 
But  how  to  verify  the  other  statement,  particularly  as  the  body 
had  not  been  discovered  ? 

“All  this  was  on  Monday,  the  2ist.  On  Tuesday,  the  22d, 
the  doctor  and  a  friend  went  again  to  the  beach.  After  a  pro¬ 
longed  search  among  the  bodies  that  had  been  recovered,  they 
were  able  to  identify  that  of  the  mother.  And  they  found  the 
right  side  of  the  head  all  crushed  in  by  a  blow. 

“  The  impression  made  on  the  doctor,  at  the  sitting  on 
Monday,  was  that  he  had  been  talking  with  his  mother.  The 
psychic,  Mrs.  E.,  is  not  a  clairvoyant,  and  there  were  many 
things  connected  with  the  sitting  that  made  the  strong  impres¬ 
sion  of  the  mother’s  present  personality.  In  order  to  have  ob¬ 
tained  all  these  facts  related  under  numbers  i,  2,  and  3,  the 
psychic  would  have  had  to  be  not  only  clairvoyant,  but  to  have 
gotten  into  mental  relations  with  several  different  people  at  the 
same  time.  The  reading  of  several  different  minds  at  once, 
and  also  clairvoyant  seeing,  not  only  of  the  bruised  head,  but 
of  the  facts  that  took  place  on  the  Friday  previous  (this  being 
Monday),  —  all  these  multiplex  and  diverse  operations,  going  on 
simultaneously,  make  up  a  problem  that  the  most  ardent  advo¬ 
cate  of  telepathy,  as  a  solvent  of  psychic  facts,  would  hardly 
regard  as  reasonably  coming  within  its  scope. 

“  Let  us  look  at  it  clearly.  Telepathy  deals  only  with  occur¬ 
rences  taking  place  at  the  time.  I  do  not  know  of  a  case  where 
clairvoyance  is  even  claimed  to  see  what  were  once  facts,  but 
which  no  longer  exist.  Then  there  must  have  been  simulta¬ 
neous  communication  with  several  minds.  This,  I  think,  is  not 
even  claimed  as  possible  by  anybody.  Then  let  it  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  Mrs.  E.  is  not  conscious  of  possessing  either  tele¬ 
pathic  or  clairvoyant  power.  Such  is  the  problem. 

“  I  express  no  opinion  of  my  own.  I  only  say  that  the 
doctor,  my  fiiend,  is  an  educated  level-headed,  noble  man.  He 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


8  I 


felt  sure  that  he  detected  undoubted  tokens  of  his  mother’s 
presence.  If  such  a  thing  is  ever  possible,  surely  this  is  the 
explanation  most  simple  and  natural.” 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  case  involving  all  the  difficulties 
which  stand  in  the  way  of  accepting  telepathy  as  a  universal 
solvent  for  this  class  of  mysteries.  It  is  a  representative 
case  of  the  class  specifically  mentioned  both  by  Mr.  Savage 
and  by  Mr.  Myers  as  being  inexplicable  by  reference  to 
telepathy ;  for  the  message  contained  information  not  in  the 
possession  of  the  psychic,  or  of  the  client,  or  of  any  of  the 
living  friends  of  either.  Consequently,  if  this  case  can  be 
explained  by  reference  to  telepathy,  clearly  science  will  have 
a  right  to  demand  further  proofs  of  spirit  communion. 

“  Let  us  look  at  it  clearly.”  In  order  to  do  so  we  must 
first  divest  the  case  of  several  imaginary  difficulties  with 
which  Mr.  Savage  seems  to  have  environed  it.  For 
instance,  he  says  that  — 

“  In  order  to  have  obtained  all  these  facts  related  under 
numbers  i,  2,  and  3,  the  psychic  would  have  had  to  be  not 
only  clairvoyant,  but  to  have  gotten  into  mental  relations  with 
several  different  people  at  the  same  time." 

It  is  not  entirely  clear  why  it  was  necessary  for  “  all 
these  multiplex  and  diverse  operations”  to  be  “going  on 
simultaneously,”  or,  indeed,  why  it  should  be  necessary  for 
all  of  them  to  go  on  at  all.  Nor  does  Mr.  Savage  throw  any 
very  clear  light  upon  that  question.  On  the  contrary,  he 
seems  to  have  propounded  an  irrelevant  problem,  which  he 
regards  as  insoluble,  with  the  view  of  claiming  a  triumph  if 
his  readers  fail  to  solve  it. 

There  are  two  groups  of  facts  in  this  case  which  present 
themselves  for  consideration.  One  group  consists  of  the 
facts  which  took  place  prior  to  the  wreck ;  namely,  the 
matter  of  the  stateroom,  the  whist,  and  the  partners.  The 
other  group  comprises  the  particular  circumstances  attend¬ 
ing  the  death  of  the  lady. 


6 


82 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


Now  we  are  told  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  psychic  to 
see  clairvoyantly  “  not  only  the  bruised  body,  but  the  facts 
that  took  place  on  the  Friday  previous.”  Mr.  Savage  holds 
the  latter  to  be  impossible  for  the  reason  that  clairvoyance 
cannot  “  see  what  were  once  facts,  but  which  no  longer 
exist.”  In  this  proposition  he  is  clearly  right.  But  he 
would  doubtless  admit  that  clairvoyance  is  equal  to  the 
perception  of  the  condition  of  the  bruised  body ;  and  from 
that  condition  the  manner  of  death,  exactly  as  detailed 
in  the  message,  could  be  clearly  inferred.  After  all,  that  is 
the  only  fact  which  we  are  called  upon  to  explain,  since 
the  facts  that  took  place  on  the  Friday  previous  were  all 
known  to  surviving  friends  of  the  deceased  ;  and  the  pre¬ 
sumption  is  that  they  were  all  detailed  to  the  son,  who  was 
frantically  searching  among  the  survivors  for  information 
which  would  throw  light  upon  the  fate  of  his  mother.  In 
the  absence  of  any  evidence  or  statement  to  the  contrary, 
even  by  implication,  this  must  be  presumed.  Clearly,  then, 
it  would  not  be  necessary  for  the  psychic  to  read  “  several 
different  minds  at  once  ”  in  order  to  ascertain  all  the  facts 
that  took  place  on  Friday,  since  those  facts  were  in  the 
mind  of  the  son,  and  he  was  in  presence  of  the  psychic. 
But  suppose  that  the  facts  had  not  yet  been  detailed  to  the 
son,  it  still  does  not  involve  the  necessity  for  the  psychic 
to  be  “  in  simultaneous  communication  with  several  minds,” 
since  telepathic  communion  with  any  one  of  the  survivors 
would  ha^e  put  her  in  possession  of  all  the  facts  that  oc¬ 
curred  on  Friday.  That  supposition  would  certainly  do 
less  violence  to  the  principles  of  scientific  inquiry  than  it 
does  to  postulate  a  supermundane  origin  for  the  phe¬ 
nomenon. 

I  submit,  therefore,  that  all  the  facts  were  easily  ascer¬ 
tainable  by  the  psychic  by  the  exercise  of  clairvoyance  and 
telepathy,  each  in  its  simplest  and  most  direct  mode  of 
manifestation.  The  two  powers,  if  both  exist,  are  certainly 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


83 

not  incompatible  with  each  other.  Indeed,  they  are  so 
closely  related  that  no  one  has  yet  been  able  to  locate  the 
boundary-line  between  them.  They  are  divided  only  by 
their  definitions. 

I  think  that  Mr.  Savage  will  agree  with  me  that,  in  the 
foregoing  view  of  the  case,  my  interpretation  is  to  be  pre¬ 
ferred  to  his  on  the  broad  ground  of  inherent  probability, 
since  his  explanation  ascribes  a  supermundane  origin  to  the 
phenomena,  whilst  mine  ascribes  it  to  those  natural  powers 
of  the  human  mind  the  existence  of  which  he  freely  admits. 
Nor  does  it  fortify  his  view  of  the  case  to  say  that  the 
psychic  does  not  possess  either  telepathic  or  clairvoyant 
power,  for  that  is  simply  begging  the  question.  The  very 
point  in  controversy  is  whether  the  phenomena  of  so-called 
spiritism  proceed  from  spirits  of  the  dead,  or  are  the  result 
of  the  exercise  of  the  known  powers  of  the  living.  And  to 
say,  as  Mr.  Savage  does,  that  the  psychic  “  is  not  conscious 
of  possessing  either  telepathic  or  clairvoyant  power,”  is  but 
another  way  of  saying  that  this  particular  psychic  believes 
that  the  messages  transmitted  through  her  come  from  dis¬ 
embodied  spirits.  It  is  a  common  thing  among  spiritistic 
psychics  to  disclaim  telepathic  or  clairvoyant  powers ;  and 
it  is  doubtless  honestly  done.  Their  theory  is  that  their 
phenomena  are  produced  by  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  that 
clairvoyance  and  telepathy  have  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  it ;  in  other  words,  that  they  “  are  not  conscious  ”  of 
possessing  those  powers.  But  when  that  statement  is 
employed  as  an  argument  in  support  of  the  spiritistic 
hypothesis,  it  becomes  a  gross  and  palpable  case  of  petitio 
principii. 

Thus  far  I  have  argued  this  case  from  Mr.  Savage’s  own 
standpoint ;  that  is,  I  have  invoked  the  aid  of  those 
powers  of  the  mind,  and  those  only,  which  he  knows  men 
to  possess,  namely,  telepathy  and  clairvoyance.  I  have 
shown  how  these  alleged  powers  may  have  operated,  each 


84 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


in  its  legitimate  sphere  of  activity,  to  produce  the  phe¬ 
nomena  he  describes.  He  declares  that  he  is  in  search  of 
a  working  hypothesis  which  will  explain  these  phenomena 
without  the  necessity  of  invoking  supermundane  agencies, 
but  has  thus  far  failed  to  find  one.  I  have  herein  advanced 
one,  the  fundamental  postulates  of  which  are  his.  They 
are  not  mine.  He  believes  in  telepathy,  and  I  agree  with 
him.  He  believes  in  independent  clairvoyance.  I  do  not. 
He  says  that  he  knoius 1  that  clairvoyance  exists  as  a  power 
of  the  human  mind.  I  wish  I  possessed  the  same  positive 
information.  It  would  be  a  great  simplifier  of  explanations, 
—  a  short  cut  across  a  labyrinthine  field.  Like  the  hypoth¬ 
esis  of  spiritism,  it  is  “  simpler  ”  than  the  scientific  explana¬ 
tion  of  the  phenomena ;  but  its  chief  merit  consists  in  the 
fact  that  it  saves  the  trouble  of  thinking.  I  have  looked  in 
vain  for  indubitable  evidence  of  the  reality  of  the  power  of 
independent  clairvoyance.  I  do  not  say  that  it  does  not 
exist.  I  do  not  know.  I  simply  say  that  I  have  not  yet 
been  made  acquainted  with  facts  sufficient  to  remove  the 
question  from  the  domain  of  doubt  and  uncertainty.  I  do 
know  that  many  phenomena  which  a  few  years  ago 
were  attributed  to  clairvoyance  are  now  easily  explicable  by 
reference  to  telepathy ;  and  I  know  that  the  field  of  the 
former  is  constantly  narrowing,  whilst  that  of  the  latter  is 
correspondingly  widening.  I  know  that  telepathy  is  a  fac¬ 
ulty  of  the  human  mind  ;  and  I  feel  safe  when  dealing  with 
that  proposition.  But  until  the  boundary-line  between 
telepathy  and  clairvoyance  is  defined  with  sufficient  exacti¬ 
tude  to  demonstrate  that  there  is  any  line  at  all,  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  offer  clairvoyance  as  a  final  explanation  of  any 
phenomena  whatever. 

Now  let  us  examine  the  phenomena  presented  by  Mr. 
Savage  from  another  point  of  view.  I  will  begin  by  quot¬ 
ing  a  proposition  of  his,  which,  if  true,  disposes  of  the  case 
1  Psychical  Review,  vol.  i.  no.  I. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  85 

at  once,  and  leaves  him  master  of  the  situation.  It  is 
this,  — 

“  Telepathy  deals  only  with  occurrences  taking  place  at 
the  time.” 

If  this  proposition  is  true,  Mr.  Savage  and  Mr.  Myers  are 
both  right  in  rejecting  telepathy  as  a  solvent  for  the  mystery 
surrounding  a  very  large  class  of  cases.  Whether  it  is  true 
or  not,  it  clearly  defines  their  attitude  and  reveals  the  ground 
upon  which  they  stand.  In  saying  this  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood  as  holding  Mr.  Myers  responsible  for  the  opin¬ 
ions  of  Mr.  Savage  ;  but  as  their  conclusions  are  identical, 
I  assume  that  they  have  reasoned  from  the  same  premises. 
I  am  confirmed  in  that  belief  for  the  reason  that  I  can  see 
no  other  possible  ground  for  their  conclusion. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  fact  remains  that  the  assertion 
that  “  telepathy  deals  only  with  occurrences  taking  place  at 
the  time  ”  is  a  fundamental  error  of  the  most  pronounced 
character.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  an  error  that  could  be 
more  misleading  to  the  searcher  after  truth  in  the  psychical 
realm,  and  hence  more  mischievous  in  its  consequences, 
than  this  one  is. 

Again,  “let  us  look  at  it  clearly.”  What  is  telepathy? 
It  has  already  been  defined  as  “  the  means  of  communica¬ 
tion  between  subjective  minds.”  In  other  words,  it  is  the 
means  of  conveying  information  from  one  subjective  mind 
to  another.  That  it  is  confined  in  its  operations  to  the 
subjective  intelligence  will  not  be  disputed.  It  has  already 
been  sufficiently  explained,  and  requires  no  further  remark 
in  this  connection,  but  will  be  demonstrated  later  on.  Now, 
when  a  message  is  telepathically  sent  from  one  subjective 
mind  to  another,  it  conveys  some  item  of  information  to 
the  subjective  mind  that  receives  it.  That  information  is 
henceforth  a  part  of  the  mental  equipment  of  the  per¬ 
cipient’s  subjective  mind,  and,  since  the  memory  of  the 
subjective  mind  is  practically  perfect,  it  is  not  likely  to 


86 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


forget  any  important  fact  that  may  have  been  thus  received 
But  suppose  the  percipient  does  not  happen,  at  the  time 
of  the  subjective  reception  of  the  message,  to  be  in  that 
peculiar  mental  condition  required  to  enable  him  to  elevate 
his  subjective  impressions  above  the  threshold  of  his  normal, 
or  objective,  consciousness.  Is  the  message  any  the  less  a 
part  of  his  subjective  mental  equipment?  In  other  words, 
does  a  failure  to  become  objectively  conscious  of  the  recep¬ 
tion  of  the  message  delivered  to  the  sub-conscious  intelli¬ 
gence  cause  the  latter  instantly  to  forget  the  subject-matter 
of  the  message  ?  No  one  who  is  acquainted  with  the 
Jalient  characteristics  of  the  subjective  intelligence,  as  de¬ 
veloped  in  experimental  psychology,  will  claim  that  it  does. 
Suppose,  then,  that  the  recipient  of  the  message  does  not 
belong  to  that  class  of  sensitives  who  are  able  to  elevate 
their  subjective  impressions  above  the  threshold  of  con¬ 
sciousness.  Then,  suppose  that  a  week  later  the  recipient 
happens  to  be  in  the  presence  of  a  mind-reader,  and  they 
hold  a  stance  for  the  purpose  of  making  experiments  in 
telepathy.  Is  there  any  a  priori  reason  why  the  telepathist 
should  not  be  able  to  read  that  message  as  it  exists,  latent, 
in  the  mind  of  the  recipient?  If  not,  why  not?  If  he  can 
do  so,  the  assumption  that  “  telepathy  deals  only  with  occur¬ 
rences  taking  place  at  the  time  ”  must  be  revised  ;  and  with 
its  revision  the  whole  fabric  which  has  been  so  industriously 
built  upon  that  foundation  must  fall.  The  only  possible 
resource  is  to  deny  the  proposition  that  a  message  received 
telepathically  from  one  source  can  also  be  delivered  by  the 
same  means  to  a  third  person. 

It  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  discuss  this  point  briefly,  for 
it  will  eventually  be  seen  that  the  whole  fabric  of  spiritism, 
scientifically  and  logically  considered,  rests  upon  a  tacit 
denial  of  this  proposition.  My  proposition  is  this  :  — 

If  A  can  convnunicate  a  fact  telepathically  to  B,  it  follows 
that  B  can  communicate  the  same  fact  telepathic  ally  to  C. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


87 


This  seems  to  be  a  self-evident  proposition ;  and  no  one, 
to  my  knowledge,  has  ventured  specifically  to  deny  its 
truth.  Yet,  as  before  intimated,  if  it  is  true,  all  of  those  dif¬ 
ficulties  vanish  which  Messrs.  Savage  and  Myers  experience 
in  finding  a  telepathic  explanation  for  their  phenomena. 

“  I  have  had,”  says  Mr.  Savage,  “  communication  while 
sitting  in  my  study  concerning  things  that  were  taking  place 
two  hundred  miles  away.”  And  he  declares  that  it  seems 
to  him  to  be  “stretching  the  theory  of  telepathy  and  of 
clairvoyance  beyond  probability  to  call  them  in  to  explain  ” 
the  fact.  Why  he  thinks  the  explanation  is  outside  the 
domain  of  clairvoyance,  he  does  not  tell  us.  It  seems  to 
me  that  if  there  is  such  a  power  as  independent  clairvoy¬ 
ance,  the  clairvoyant  explanation  is  easy  and  perfect.  But 
as  I  do  not  yet  admit  the  genuineness  of  that  power,  I  will 
try  to  help  Mr.  Savage  to  a  telepathic  explanation.  He 
ioes  not  give  us  an  account  of  the  circumstances  of  his 
case ;  but  as  it  is  generic,  I  will  furnish  a  specimen  that 
covers  the  ground.  The  following  case  was  related  to  me 
by  a  lady  now  living  in  Washington,  for  whose  veracity  and 
exalted  character  I  can  vouch. 

Some  years  ago  she  was  residing  in  the  interior  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  On  one  occasion  she  visited  friends  in  Phila¬ 
delphia,  and  during  her  stay  she  was  induced  to  call  on  a 
then  celebrated  “  medium.”  Amongst  other  things  the 
medium  told  her  that  one  of  the  children  of  the  lady’s 
family  had  just  fallen  from  a  tree  and  was  apparently  badly 
hurt.  The  statement  did  not  make  much  impression  on 
her,  for  she  was  rather  sceptical  on  the  subject  of  spirit 
communication ;  but  when  she  went  home  she  learned  that 
it  was  literally  true,  and  the  hour  corresponded  very  nearly 
to  the  time  when  she  was  at  the  stance.  It  transpired  that 
the  child  was  not  badly  hurt,  although  it  was  insensible 
when  picked  up. 

Mr.  Savage  would  hold  that  it  would  be  “  stretching  the 


88 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


theory  of  telepathy  ”  to  the  breaking  point  to  call  it  in  to 
explain  this  case.  Why?  Is  it  not  probable  that  the  lady 
was  in  telepathic  rapport  with  her  family  at  home  ?  And 
would  it  be  stretching  the  theory  of  telepathy  too  far  to 
suppose  that  she  would  be  informed  by  that  means  of  the 
disaster  happening  to  one  of  her  family?  I  think  not.  But 
the  lady  was  not  a  psychic,  and  the  message,  consequently, 
remained  below  the  threshold  of  her  normal  consciousness. 
The  “  medium,”  however,  was  able  to  read  her  mind,  and 
he  found  the  fact  recorded  there  as  stated. 

In  a  work  comprising  two  large  volumes,  entitled  “  Phan¬ 
tasms  of  the  Living,”  of  which  Mr.  Myers  is  one  of  the 
authors,  there  are  hundreds  of  cases  recorded  where  tele¬ 
pathic  messages  were  received  informing  the  percipient  of 
danger  or  disaster  to  loved  ones  at  a  distance.  Mr.  Myers 
and  Mr.  Savage  will  both  agree  that  it  would  be  in  perfect 
accordance  with  the  experience  of  mankind  to  suppose  that 
the  lady  was  telepathically  informed  of  the  accident.  They 
will  both  agree  that  the  message  might  have  been  received 
subjectively,  and  yet  not  brought  within  the  domain  of  her 
normal  consciousness ;  for  that  is  also  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  known  facts  of  telepathy.  Thus  far  we  all  travel 
along  together  very  comfortably  and  harmoniously.  But 
when  the  psychic  imparts  the  information  to  the  lady,  the 
crucial  question  at  once  arises,  “  How  did  he  obtain  it?  ” 

Here  are  the  two  hypotheses  :  — • 

Mine  is  that  he  read  the  mind  of  the  lady ;  in  other 
words,  he  obtained  telepathically  the  information  that 
Messrs.  Savage  and  Myers  will  both  admit  was,  or  might 
be,  legitimately  in  her  possession  through  telepathic  agency. 

Their  theory  is  that  the  spirit  of  some  dead  man  was 
watching  the  child  when  it  fell,  and  that  he  hastened  to 
Philadelphia  to  hunt  up  a  “  medium  ”  of  communication 
between  himself  and  the  lady,  so  that  he  could  tell  her  all 
about  it.  By  a  happy  coincidence  he  found  the  lady  and  a 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


89 


suitable  “  medium  ”  already  in  consultation,  looking  for  a 
test  case  upon  which  to  postulate  a  theory  of  immortality. 
And  it  was  forthcoming.  According  to  Messrs.  Savage  and 
Myers,  it  was  the  crucial  test,  —  demonstrative  of  spirit 
intercourse. 

If  my  hypothesis  “stretches  the  theory  of  telepathy  ”  too 
far,  and  if  evidence  of  immortal  life  consists  in  the  adoption 
of  their  theory  of  explanation,  well  may  we  exclaim,  — 

“On  what  a  slender  thread 

Hang  everlasting  things  1” 

I  ask  the  intelligent,  unprejudiced  reader  to  judge  for 
himself  which  of  the  two  explanations  is  more  likely  to  be 
correct.  To  this  end  he  must  ask  himself  whether  it  is 
more  rational  to  suppose  that  the  lady  obtained  a  telepathic 
message  from  home  and  transmitted  the  same  to  the  psychic, 
than  it  is  to  suppose  that  it  required  the  intervention  of  a 
supermundane  agency  to  convey  the  information. 

In  answering  this  question  the  logical  and  scientific  axiom 
must  not  be  lost  sight  of,  —  that  we  have  neither  occasion 
nor  logical  right  to  seek  a  supermundane  explanation  of  a 
phenomenon,  when  it  is  explicable  by  reference  to  natural 
laws  with  which  the  world  is  acquainted. 

On  this  point  the  truly  scientific  reader  will  doubtless 
prefer  to  stand  with  Mr.  Podmore,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  who  says  :  “  When  the 
choice  of  explanation  seems  to  lie  between  telepathy  and 
some  faculty  even  more  dubious  and  more  remote  from 
ordinary  analogies,  it  is  right  that  the  hypothesis  of  telep¬ 
athy  should  be  strained — if  necessary,  to  the  breaking 
point  —  before  we  invoke  a  stage-deity  to  cut  the  knot.”  1 


1  Apparitions  and  Thought-Transference,  pp.  369,  370. 


CHAPTER  V. 

spiritistic  phenomena  ( continued ). 


Experimental  Telepathy.  —  Deferred  Percipience.  —  Cases  in  Point. 

—  Planchette.  —  Latency  of  Telepathic  Impressions.  —  Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar’s  Dream.  —  Daniel’s  Telepathic  Power.  —  Final  Explana¬ 
tion  of  Mr.  Savage’s  Test  Case.  —  The  Mother’s  Message  to  her 
Son. —  The  Son’s  Message  to  the  Psychic. — The  Last  Resource 
of  Spiritism.  —  Mr.  Savage’s  Crucial  Question. — The  Unscien¬ 
tific  Attitude  of  Spiritists.  — Thunder  considered  as  the  Voice  of 
an  Angry  God.  —  The  Simplicity  of  Nature’s  Laws.  —  The  Alleged 
“  Simplicity  ”  of  the  Spiritistic  Hypothesis.  —  It  saves  Thinking. 

—  Reasoning  in  a  Circle.  —  Why  cannot  Spirits  communicate 
with  the  Living  ?  —  Not  a  Pertinent  Question.  —  The  Real  Ques¬ 
tion  is,  Do  they  so  Communicate  ?  —  The  Evidence  is  against  the 
Spiritistic  Hypothesis. —  “  Spirits  of  Health  and  Goblins  Damned.” 

T  HAVE  thus  far  examined  Mr.  Savage’s  test  case  from  a 
1  theoretical  standpoint.  My  theories,  however,  have  all 
been  based  upon  the  well-known  facts  of  experimental  psy¬ 
chology,  except  where  I  have  argued  from  a  provisional 
assumption  of  the  reality  of  the  power  of  independent  clair¬ 
voyance.  I  now  approach  the  domain  of  ascertained  facts. 
My  text  is  still  his  declaration  that  “  telepathy  deals  only 
with  occurrences  taking  place  at  the  time.”1  If  it  had 
been  stated  that  “  telepathy  deals  only  with  occurrences 
taking  place  at  the  time  of  the  delivery  of  a  message  con¬ 
cerning  them  to  the  subjective  mind  of  the  party  for  whom 
it  is  intended,”  it  would  have  been  much  nearer  the  truth, 
but  would  still  have  been  far  from  accurate,  as  will  be  seen 
hereafter.  Thus  limited,  however,  it  could  not  have  been 
1  M.  J.  Savage  in  “  Psychics  :  Facts  and  Theories.” 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  91 

pressed  into  the  service  of  spiritism  ;  and  we  must,  there¬ 
fore,  presume  that  the  words  were  intended  and  used  in 
their  full  significance.  In  other  words,  the  fate  of  the  argu¬ 
ment  must  depend  upon  the  correctness  of  the  premises  as 
they  are  formulated. 

In  making  this  statement  some  very  important  facts  set 
forth  in  “  Phantasms  of  the  Living,”  must  have  been  for¬ 
gotten  for  the  moment,  or  else  the  article  from  which  quota¬ 
tion  was  made  was  written  before  the  publication  of  that 
voluminous  record  of  telepathic  experiences. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  one  very  important  feature  of  the 
phenomena  of  telepathy  has  certainly  been  ignored.  It  is 
a  feature,  too,  of  the  first  importance,  for,  without  including 
it  as  a  factor  in  any  given  case,  one  is  more  than  likely  to 
be  led  into  the  most  grievous  errors.  I  refer  to  the  phe¬ 
nomenon  of  “deferred  percipience.”  The  meaning  of  the 
term  is  thus  explained  by  Mr.  Myers  in  his  learned  and 
able  introduction  to  “  Phantasms  of  the  Living  ”  :  “  We  find 
in  the  case  of  phantasms  corresponding  to  some  accident  or 
crisis  which  befalls  a  living  friend,  that  there  seems  often  to 
be  a  latent  period  before  the  phantasm  becomes  definite  or 
externalized  to  the  percipient’s  eye  or  ear.  Sometimes  a 
vague  malaise  seems  first  to  be  generated,  and  then  when 
other  stimuli  are  deadened,  —  as  at  night  or  in  some  period 
of  repose, — the  indefinite  grief  or  uneasiness  takes  shape 
in  the  voice  or  figure  of  the  friend  who  in  fact  passed 
through  his  moment  of  peril  some  hours  before.”  He  then 
goes  on  to  say  that  “  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  deferment 
of  this  kind  may  sometimes  intervene  between  the  moment 
of  death  and  the  phantasmal  announcement  thereof  to  a 
distant  friend.” 

This  is  a  very  general,  though  a  very  accurate,  statement 
of  a  principle  which  will  presently  be  seen  to  be  a  corollary 
of  the  doctrine  of  duality  of  mind  and  of  sub-conscious 
intelligence. 


92  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

A  person  in  imminent  and  deadly  peril  telepathically 
conveys  a  message  to  his  nearest  friend  or  relative,  inform¬ 
ing  him  of  the  occurrence.  This  may  be  done  by  means 
of  a  vision  or  by  clairaudience,  or  otherwise  ;  but  it  must 
necessarily  be  done  by  some  means  that  addresses  itself  to 
the  sensory  experience  of  the  percipient.  It  is  a  message 
from  the  subjective  mind  of  the  “  agent  ”  to  that  of  the 
“  percipient.”  If  the  percipient  is  a  psychic,  he  will  prob¬ 
ably  perceive  the  import  of  the  message  at  once.  If  he  is 
not  a  psychic,  or  is  not  easily  thrown  into  the  psychical  or 
subjective  condition,  he  may  not  be  able  for  hours  to  ele¬ 
vate  the  message  above  the  threshold  of  his  own  conscious¬ 
ness.  If  he  is  incapable  (as  most  people  are)  of  becoming 
objectively  conscious  of  what  is  going  on  in  his  subjective 
mind,  he  may  never  be  able  to  become  normally  conscious 
of  the  message  that  is  lying  “  latent  ”  in  his  “  subliminal 
consciousness.”  Nevertheless  the  information  is  there, 
although  he  may  not,  as  before  remarked,  be  conscious  of 
it  at  the  time  of  its  reception.  It  may  remain  latent  for  a 
week  or  a  month ;  or  he  may  never  be  able  to  take  objec¬ 
tive  cognizance  of  it  unaided  by  some  one  more  sensitive  to 
subjective  impressions. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  telepathy  is  one  of  those 
psychic  powers  that  are  seldom,  if  ever,  acquired  by  persons 
who  are  in  a  normal  state  of  physical  health.  Let  me  not 
be  misunderstood  on  this  point.  When  we  speak  of  one 
possessing  telepathic  power,  we  usually  mean,  simply,  that 
he  is  one  who  is  capable  of  taking  objective  cognizance,  or 
becoming  objectively  conscious,  of  the  messages  received  by 
his  subjective  mind.  In  other  words,  he  is  one  who  is 
capable  of  elevating  the  impressions  of  his  sub-conscious 
intelligence  above  the  threshold  of  his  normal  or  objective 
consciousness.  The  fact  that  he  is  unable  to  do  this  is  no 
evidence  that  he  is  incapable  of  receiving  subjective  im¬ 
pressions,  or  that  he  does  not  receive  telepathic  messages. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


93 


Indeed,  the  facts  show  that  there  is  practically  little  differ¬ 
ence,  other  things  being  equal,  in  the  capacity  of  persons 
of  average  intelligence  for  receiving  telepathic  communica¬ 
tions.  The  difference  consists,  not  in  the  ability  to  receive, 
but  in  the  ability  to  perceive,  or  to  become  objectively  con¬ 
scious,  of  what  has  been  received.  And  the  latter  power 
usually  finds  its  origin  in  an  abnormal  physical  condition, 
ranging  in  intensity  from  that  of  an  incipient  neurosis  to 
the  terrible  affliction  endured  by  the  Seeress  of  Prevorst, — 
the  power  and  the  physical  abnormality  nearly  always  sus¬ 
taining  perfectly  harmonious  proportional  relations. 

It  follows  that  a  perfectly  normal,  healthy  man  is  seldom 
able  to  assimilate  the  full  content  of  a  telepathic  message. 
It  reaches  his  consciousness,  if  at  all,  only  in  the  form  of  a 
vague  impression,  creating  a  transient  feeling  of  unrest  or 
foreboding,  but  which  is  soon  submerged  or  thrown  off  by 
his  superabundant  vitality.  Few  are  entirely  exempt  from 
such  impressions,  and  they  vary  in  intensity  in  proportion 
to  their  importance  to  the  individual.  But  the  fact  that 
one  is  not  able  to  take  objective  cognizance  of  their  full 
import  does  not  prove  that  the  information,  in  all  its 
details,  is  not  indelibly  stamped  upon  the  tablets  of  the 
soul.  From  this  postulate  it  follows  that  the  work  of  a 
trained  psychic,  capable  of  reading  the  minds  of  his  sit¬ 
ters,  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  reveal  the  full  content  of 
a  telepathic  message  latent  in  the  subjective  mind  of  his 
client. 

The  foregoing  propositions  seem  almost  self-evident  to 
the  merest  tyro  in  psychic  science  ;  but  as  Mr.  Myers  and 
his  colleagues,  Messrs.  Gurney  and  Podmore,  have  taken 
pains  not  only  clearly  to  define  “  deferred  percipience  ” 
and  note  it  as  an  important  factor  in  telepathy,  but  to 
demonstrate  it  experimentally  and  print  accounts  of  its 
illustrative  cases  occurring  spontaneously,  it  becomes  our 
duty  to  present  a  few  of  the  most  prominent  of  those  facts 


94 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


recorded  by  them,  to  the  end  that  a  most  important  factor 
in  telepathy  may  not  be  in  danger  of  being  overlooked. 

The  first  case  to  which  I  invite  attention  was  experi¬ 
mental.  The  facts  seem  trivial ;  but,  as  they  illustrate  an 
important  principle,  space  cannot  be  refused  for  their 
reproduction.  The  author  introduces  the  experiment  by 
the  following  prefatory  remarks  :  — 

“  I  will  quote  one  more  taste-series,  for  the  sake  of  illustrating 
a  special  point,  —  namely,  the  deferment  of  the  percipient’s  con¬ 
sciousness  of  the  sensation  until  a  time  when  the  agent  had 
himself  ceased  to  feel  it.  This  fact  is  of  great  interest,  on 
account  of  the  marked  analogy  to  it  which  we  shall  encounter 
in  many  of  the  spo7itaneous  telepathic  cases. 

“  June  nth,  1885. 

“  Dr.  Hyla  Greves  was  in  contact  with  Miss  Relph,  having 
tasted  salad  oil. 

“  Miss  Relph  said :  ‘  I  feel  a  cool  sensation  in  my  mouth, 
something  like  that  produced  by  sal  prunelle.’ 

“Mr.  R.  C.  Johnson  in  contact,  having  tasted  Worcestershire 
sauce  in  another  room. 

“  ‘  I  taste  something  oily  ;  it  is  very  like  salad  oil.’  Then  a 
few  minutes  after  contact  with  Mr.  Johnson  had  ceased,  ‘My 
mouth  seems  getting  hot  after  the  oil.’  ("N.  B.  Nothing  at  all 
had  been  said  about  the  substances  tasted  either  by  Dr.  Greves 
or  Mr.  Johnson.) 

“  Dr.  Greves  in  contact,  having  tasted  bitter  aloes. 

“  ‘  I  taste  something  frightfully  hot  .  .  .  something  like  vine¬ 
gar  and  pepper.  ...  Is  it  Worcestershire  sauce  ?  ’ 

“  Mr.  Guthrie  in  contact,  also  having  tasted  bitter  aloes. 

“  ( I  taste  something  extremely  bitter,  but  don’t  know  what 
it  is,  and  do  not  remember  tasting  it  before.  ...  It  is  a  very 
horrid  taste.’  ” 1 

The  next  experimental  case  is  also  seemingly  trivial,  but 
is  important  as  an  illustration  of  deferred  percipience. 
This  experiment  was  one  of  a  series  made  by  Rev.  P.  H. 
Newnham,  Vicar  of  Maker,  Devonport,  England,  his  wife 
being  the  mind-reader.  The  questions  were  written  down 

1  Phantasms  of  the  Living,  vol.  i.  p.  56. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


95 


by  Mr.  Newnham,  the  wife  knowing  nothing  of  their  char¬ 
acter  ;  and  the  answers  were  written  out  by  her  by  means 
of  planchette  :  — 

“  ‘  What  name  shall  we  give  to  our  new  dog?’ 

“  A.  ‘  Yesterday  was  not  a  fair  trial.’ 

“  ‘  Why  was  not  yesterday  a  fair  trial  ?  ’ 

“  A.  ‘  Dog.’ 

“  And  again  :  — 

“  1  What  do  I  mean  by  chaffing  C.  about  a  lilac  tree  ?  * 

“A.  ‘Temper  and  imagination.’ 

“‘You  are  thinking  of  somebody  else.  Please  reply  to  my 
question.’ 

“  A.  ‘  Lilacs.’ 

“  Here  a  single  image  or  word  seems  to  have  made  its  mark 
on  the  percipient’s  mind,  without  calling  any  originative  activity 
into  play ;  and  we  thus  get  the  naked  reproduction.  In  these 
last  examples  we  again  notice  the  feature  of  deferred  impression. 
The  influence  only  gradually  became  effective,  the  immediate 
answer  being  irrelevant  to  the  question.  We  may  suppose, 
therefore,  that  the  first  effect  took  place  below  the  threshold  of 
consciousness.” 1 

To  these  remarks  is  added  a  footnote,  as  follows :  — 

“  The  following  case,  though  not  strictly  experimental,  is 
sufficiently  in  point  to  be  worth  quoting.  Though  unfortu¬ 
nately  not  recorded  in  writing  at  the  time,  it  was  described 
within  a  few  days  of  its  occurrence  to  Mr.  Podmore,  who  is 
acquainted  with  all  the  persons  concerned.  The  narrator  is 
Miss  Robertson,  of  229  Marylebone  Road,  W. 

“About  three  years  ago  I  was  speaking  of  planchette-writing 
to  some  of  my  friends,  when  a  young  lady,  a  daughter  of  the 
house  where  I  was  spending  the  evening,  mentioned  that  she 
had  played  with  planchette  at  school,  and  that  it  had  always 
written  for  her.  Thereupon  I  asked  her  to  spend  the  evening 
with  me,  and  try  it  again,  which  she  agreed  to  do.  On  the 
morning  of  the  day  on  which  she  had  arranged  to  come  to  me, 
her  brother,  on  leaving  the  house,  said,  laughing,  ‘  Well,  Edith, 
it  is  all  humbug ;  but  if  planchette  tells  you  the  name  and  sum 
of  money  which  are  on  a  check  which  I  have  in  my  pocket,  and 
which  I  am  going  to  cash  for  mother,  I  will  believe  there  is 

1  Op.  cit.,  pp.  -jo,  71. 


96 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


something  in  it.’  Edith,  on  her  arrival  at  my  house  in  the 
evening,  told  me  of  tins,  and  I  said,  ‘  We  must  not  expect  that; 
planchette  never  does  what  one  wants,’  or  words  to  that  effect. 
A  couple  of  hours  after,  we  tried  the  planchette,  Edith’s  hand 
alone  touching  it.  It  almost  immediately  wrote,  quite  clearly,  — 

‘I.  SPALDING,  £6  13.  4.’ 

I  had  forgotten  about  the  check,  and  I  said,  ‘What  can  that 
mean?’  Upon  which  Edith  replied,  ‘  It  is  H.’s  check.’  I  was 
incredulous,  having  a  long  acquaintance  with  planchette.  I 
said,  ‘  If  it  is  right,  send  me  word  directly  you  get  home.  I  am 
sure  it  will  not  be.’  But  the  next  day  I  received  a  letter  from 
Edith,  telling  me  that  she  had  astonished  her  brother  greatly  by 
telling  him  the  name  and  amount  on  the  check,  which  was  per¬ 
fectly  correct.  I  have  read  this  account  to  the  young  lady  and 
her  brother,  who  sign  it  as  well  as  myself. 

‘Nora  Robertson. 

‘E.  C. 

‘  D.  C.  H.  C.’ 

“In  answer  .to  an  inquiry,  Miss  Robertson  adds,  on  Feb.  12, 
1885  :  — 

“  ‘  Miss  E.  C.  says,  in  answer  to  your  question,  that  she  is 
quite  certain  she  could  not  have  known  or  surmised  the  name 
and  amount  of  the  check. 

“  ‘  I  can  confirm  her  on  the  first  point,  for  I  remember  ques¬ 
tioning  everybody  all  round  at  the  time.  She  had  just  returned 
from  school,  and  knew  nothing  at  all  about  her  mother’s  busi¬ 
ness  or  money  matters.’ 

“  Here,  it  will  be  observed,  the  impression  seems  not  only  to 
have  been  unconscious,  but  to  have  remained  latent  for  several 
hours  before  taking  effect;  for  it  is,  at  any  rate,  the  most  natu¬ 
ral  supposition  that  the  transference  actually  occurred  at  the 
time  when  the  conversation  on  the  subject  took  place  between 
the  brother  and  sister.” 

The  intelligent  reader  will  not  fail  to  notice  that  the 
foregoing  is  not  only  illustrative  of  deferred  percipience, 
but  is  representative  of  a  very  large  class  of  cases  where 
the  message  never  reaches  the  normal  consciousness  of  the 
percipient  except  through  extraneous  means.  In  this  case 
it  was  by  planchette,  in  the  hands  of  the  percipient ;  but 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


97 


does  any  one  suppose  that  if  some  one  else  had  operated 
the  instrument,  who  was  also  a  good  telepathist  and  e?i 
rapport  with  Edith,  the  same  result  would  not  have  been 
produced?  For  instance,  suppose  Miss  Robertson  had 
been  thus  endowed,  would  it  have  been  necessary  to  at¬ 
tribute  the  phenomenon  to  supermundane  agency  if  she 
had  succeeded  in  reading  in  Edith’s  subjective  mind  what 
was  obviously  there,  namely,  the  details  regarding  the 
check?  Certainly  not.  And  yet  that  would  have  been 
a  case  exactly  such  as  Messrs.  Savage  and  Myers  have 
declared  unaccountable  except  under  the  hypothesis  of 
spirit  communion. 

The  next  case  of  deferred  percipience  recorded  in  “Phan¬ 
tasms  of  the  Living”  was  related  by  the  percipient,  Mr. 
Frederick  Wingfield,  of  France.  The  essential  part  of  the 
narrative  is  the  following  :  — 

“  ‘  On  the  night  of  Thursday,  the  25th  of  March,  1880,  I 
retired  to  bed  after  reading  till  late,  as  is  my  habit.  I  dreamed 
that  I  was  lying  on  my  sofa  reading,  when,  on  looking  up,  I 
saw  distinctly  the  figure  of  my  brother,  Richard  Wingfield- 
Baker,  sitting  on  the  chair  before  me.  I  dreamed  that  I  spoke 
to  him,  but  that  he  simply  bent  his  head  in  reply,  rose,  and  left 
the  room.  When  I  awoke,  I  found  myself  standing  with  one 
foot  on  the  ground  by  my  bedside,  and  the  other  on  the  bed, 
trying  to  speak  and  to  pronounce  my  brother’s  name.  So 
strong  was  the  impression  as  to  the  reality  of  his  presence,  and 
so  vivid  the  whole  scene  as  dreamt,  that  I  left  my  bedroom  to 
search  for  my  brother  in  the  sitting-room.  1  examined  the 
chair  where  I  had  seen  him  seated,  I  returned  to  bed,  tried  to 
fall  asleep  in  the  hope  of  a  repetition  of  the  appearance;  but 
my  mind  was  too  excited,  too  painfully  disturbed,  as  I  recalled 
what  I  had  dreamed.  I  must  have,  however,  fallen  asleep 
towards  the  morning;  but  when  I  awoke,  the  impression  of  my 
dream  was  as  vivid  as  ever,  —  and  I  may  add  is  to  this  very 
hour  equally  strong  and  clear.  My  sense  of  impending  evil 
was  so  strong  that  I  at  once  made  a  note  in  my  memorandum 
book  of  this  “  appearance,”  and  added  the  words  “  God  forbid.” 

“  ‘  Three  days  afterwards  I  received  the  news  that  my  brother, 
Richard  Wingficld-Baker,  had  died  on  Thursday  evening,  the 

7 


98 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


25th  of  March,  18S0,  at  8.30  p.  m.,  from  the  effects  of  the  ter¬ 
rible  injuries  received  in  a  fall  while  hunting  with  the  Black- 
more  Vale  hounds.’  ” 1 

Following  this  case,  and  the  corroborative  evidence 
verifying  it,  may  be  found  the  following  very  sensible  and 
judicious  remarks :  — 

“  It  will  be  seen  here  that  the  impression  followed  the  death 
by  a  few  hours,  —  a  feature  which  will  frequently  recur.  [The 
italics  are  mine.]  The  fact,  of  course,  slightly  detracts  from 
the  evidential  force  of  a  case,  as  compared  with  the  completely 
simultaneous  coincidences ;  inasmuch  as  the  odds  against  the 
accidental  occurrence  of  a  unique  impression  of  some  one’s 
presence  within  a  few  hours  of  his  death,  enormous  as  they  are, 
are  less  enormous  than  the  odds  against  a  similar  accidental 
occurrence  within  five  minutes  of  the  death.  But  the  deferment 
of  the  impression,  though  to  this  slight  extent  affecting  a  case 
as  an  item  of  telepathic  evidence ,  is  not  in  itself  any  obstacle  to 
the  telepathic  explanation.  We  may  recall  that  in  some  of  the 
experimental  cases  the  impression  was  never  a  piece  of  conscious 
experience  at  all ;  while  in  others  the  latency  and  gradual 
emergence  of  the  idea  was  a  very  noticeable  feature.  This 
justifies  us  in  presuming  that  an  impression  which  ultimately 
takes  a  sensory  form  may  fail  in  the  first  instance  to  reach  the 
threshold  of  attention.  It  may  be  unable  to  compete,  at  the 
moment,  with  the  vivid  sensory  impressions,  and  the  crowd  of 
ideas  and  images,  that  belong  to  normal  seasons  of  waking  life  ; 
and  it  may  thus  remain  latent  till  darkness  and  quiet  give  a 
chance  for  its  development.  This  view  seems,  at  any  rate,  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  fact  that  it  is  usually  at  night  that  the  delayed 
impression  —  if  such  it  be  —  emerges  into  the  percipient’s  con¬ 
sciousness.  It  is  supported  also  by  analogies  which  recognized 
psychology  supplies.  I  may  refer  to  the  extraordinary  exalta¬ 
tion  of  memory  sometimes  observed  in  hypnotic  and  hystero- 
epileptic  ‘subjects;’  or  even  to  the  vivid  revival,  in  ordinary 
dreaming,  of  impressions  which  have  hardly  affected  the  wak¬ 
ing  consciousness.” 

The  next  and  last  case  for  which  room  can  be  made  is 
from  a  narrative  related  by  a  Mrs.  Montgomery  to  the 
author  of  “  Phantasms  of  the  Living  ”  :  — 

1  Op.  cit.,  p.  199. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


99 


“  February,  1884. 

Nearly  thirty  years  ago  I  lost  a  sister.  The  place  where 
she  died  being  at  some  distance,  my  husband  went  to  the 
funeral  without  me.  I  went  to  bed  early,  and  had  a  frightful 
dream  of  the  funeral  ceremony.  I  saw  my  brother  faint  away 
at  the  service,  and  fall  into  the  grave.  I  awoke  with  the  horror 
of  the  dream,  just  as  my  husband  entered  the  room  on  his  return 
from  the  funeral,  which  had  taken  place  at  least  eight  hours 
before.  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  if  anything  unusual  had  hap¬ 
pened,  as  I  had  had  a  terrible  dream,  and  I  related  it.  He 
said,  ‘  Who  in  the  world  told  you  that  ?  I  never  intended  tell¬ 
ing  you.’  1  said,  ‘  I  only  dreamt  it.  Just  as  you  were  coming 
in,  I  awoke.’”1 

To  this  the  author  appends  the  following  remarks  :  — 

“  Here  the  picture  transferred  to  the  percipient’s  dream  was 
a  precise  and  detailed  one.  It  was  of  a  sort  which  might  at 
first  seem  more  fitly  to  belong  to  a  later  class,  where  something 
of  the  nature  of  clairvoyance  is  suggested.  Nor  would  the  eight 
hours'  interval  between  the  event  and  the  dream  be  an  objection 
to  this  view ;  for  I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  deferment 
or  latency  of  telepathic  impressions  is  especially  frequent  in 
dream  and  ‘  borderland  ’  cases,  as  though  the  idea  or  image  had 
been  unable  to  compete  with  the  vivid  sensations  which  ex¬ 
ternal  realities  force  on  the  mind,  and  only  got  its  chance  of 
emerging  into  consciousness  when  the  senses  were  closed  to 
these  contending  influences.  But  seeing  that  at  the  moment  of 
Mrs.  Montgomery’s  dream  her  husband  was  just  about  to  enter 
her  room,  with  the  shock  of  the  burial  scene  probably  fresh  in 
his  mind,  it  is  at  any  rate  conceivable  that  he  then,  and  not  the 
brother  at  the  earlier  time,  transmitted  the  impression.” 

It  may  be  here  remarked  that,  if  the  author’s  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  this  occurrence  is  the  true  one,  it  demonstrates  not 
only  that  Mr.  Savage’s  postulate,  that  “  telepathy  deals  only 
with  occurrences  taking  place  at  the  time,”  is  conspicuously 
inexact,  but  that  the  person  whom  the  occurrence  most 
concerns  is  not  necessarily  the  agent  who  transmits  the 
intelligence. 

1  Op.  cit.,  pp.  328,  329. 


100 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


Even  a  clergyman  may  be  prepared  to  relegate  the 
second  chapter  of  Daniel  to  the  domain  of  romance ;  but 
the  story  is  highly  probable,  as  well  as  illustrative  of  the 
phenomenon  of  deferred  percipience.  Nebuchadnezzar’s 
dream  was  strongly  impressed  upon  his  mind  as  being  very 
important,  yet  he  was  not  able  to  recall  it  to  his  objective 
mind.  He  demanded  its  recall  by  the  Magi  of  all  classes, 
and  upon  their  failure  to  do  so  he  decreed  their  death. 
Daniel  and  his  three  friends  were  included  in  the  despotic 
decree.  The  four  met  and  prayed  over  it,  death  staring 
them  in  the  face.  Prayer  and  the  imminence  of  death  put 
them  in  the  best  possible  subjective  condition,  and  when 
this  was  supplemented  by  sleep  Daniel  was  in  telepathic 
communication  with  the  king,  and,  after  the  dream  was  at 
least  twenty-four  hours  old,  read  it  from  the  king’s  mind, 
which  was  its  sole  repository.  The  dream  and  the  percipi¬ 
ence  were  not  concurrent,  yet  a  clearer  case  of  telepathy  is 
nowhere  stated. 

I  have  now  presented  an  outline  of  the  most  important 
factors  in  telepathy  that  seem  to  have  been  ignored  by  both 
Mr.  Myers  and  Mr.  Savage,  and  it  remains  to  apply  them  to 
the  case  under  consideration.  The  reader  will  readily 
recall  the  salient  features  of  Mr.  Savage’s  test  case  as  given 
in  full  in  Chapter  III.  The  one  fact  necessary  to  account 
for,  or,  rather,  the  one  problem  necessary  to  solve,  is,  how 
could  the  details  concerning  the  manner  of  the  lady’s  death 
have  been  transmitted  telepathically  to  the  psychic  who 
first  informed  the  living  that  the  victim  was  not  drowned, 
but  had  been  killed  by  a  blow  on  the  head  ? 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  are  two  solutions  of  the  prob¬ 
lem,  either  one  of  which  is  adequate. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  one,  in  view  of  the  facts  per¬ 
taining  to  the  phenomenon  of  “  deferred  percipience  ” 
which  have  just  been  detailed,  is  this  :  It  will  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  the  victim  of  the  tragedy,  “  Mrs.  K.,  and  her 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


lOI 


sister,  Mrs.  B.,  had  both  been  interested  in  psychic  investi¬ 
gation,  and  had  held  sittings  with  the  psychic,”  Mrs.  E., 
the  one  who  subsequently  revealed  the  details  of  the 
tragedy  at  a  sitting  in  presence  of  the  son  and  the  sister  of  the 
deceased.  It  will  also  be  remembered  that  (again  quoting 
the  language  of  Mr.  Savage)  “  this  Mrs.  E.,  the  psychic, 
had  been  known  to  all  the  parties  concerned  for  many 
years,  and  was  held  in  the  highest  respect.”  It  is  also 
stated  in  the  same  paragraph  that  the  psychic  visited 
Mrs.  B.  regularly  every  Monday,  and  that  on  the  occasion 
of  these  visits  the  three  ladies  “  would  frequently  have  a 
sitting.” 

Here,  then,  was  the  situation.  The  psychic  and  the 
deceased  had  not  only  been  on  the  most  intimate  and 
friendly  terms  for  many  years,  but  they  “  frequently  had  a 
sitting  ”  for  “  psychic  investigation.”  Could  a  state  of 
affairs  be  imagined  that  would  make  it  more  probable  that 
the  deceased  would  telepathically  inform  the  psychic  of  the 
great  crisis  through  which  she  was  passing?  Could  con¬ 
ditions  be  imagined  more  favorable  to  the  successful  trans¬ 
mission  of  a  telepathic  message  to  a  psychic?  Surely  not. 
But  it  appears  that  the  psychic  did  not  become  cognizant 
of  the  facts  until  the  sitting  on  Monday.  It  is  superfluous 
to  say  that  it  was  simply  a  case  of  “deferred  percipience.” 
The  psychic  did  not  happen  to  be  in  the  subjective  con¬ 
dition  until  the  Monday’s  sitting,  and  consequently  was  not 
able  to  elevate  the  message  above  the  threshold  of  her 
consciousness. 

Could  anything  be  more  obviously  within  the  recognized 
domain  of  telepathy?  Yet  here  is  a  case  where  telepathy 
was  dealing  “with  occurrences”  not  “taking  place  at  the 
time.”  Here  is  a  “communication  of  intelligence  that 
neither  the  psychic  nor  the  sitter  possessed,  nor  ever  did 
possess.” 

I  am  not  yet  through  with  the  telepathic  explanations  of 


102 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


this  case,  but  have  reserved  the  better  one  for  the  last.  It 
may  not  be  better  for  this  particular  case,  but  it  will  cover 
a  larger  number  of  other  cases  coming  under  the  test 
conditions  prescribed  than  the  one  just  given.  For  the 
first  explanation  will  not  cover  cases  where  the  “agent”  is 
not  presumably  in  telepathic  rapport  with  the  psychic,  —  a 
condition  obviously  existent  in  this  case.  The  solution  I 
am  now  about  to  advance  will  not  only  cover  this  case,  but 
will  explain  all  that  I  have  ever  seen,  heard,  or  read  of, 
coming  under  the  test  formulas  I  have  so  often  quoted. 

The  reader  will  have  already  anticipated  me  when  I  say 
that  the  most  obviously  natural  thing  imaginable  was  for  the 
dying  mother  to  send  a  telepathic  message  to  her  son, 
informing  him  of  all  the  sad  details  of  her  death,  possibly 
including  the  incidents  of  the  Friday  previous ;  although 
we  are  not  bound  to  include  the  latter,  for  the  reason  that 
they  could  have  been  obtained  from  the  survivors.  The 
son  was  not  a  psychic,  and  consequently  could  not  readily 
become  conscious  of  the  content  of  the  subjective  message. 
It  was  therefore  necessarily  a  case  of  “  deferred  percipi- 
ence,”  and  he  might  never  have  become  objectively  con¬ 
scious  of  the  information  which  he  subjectively  possessed 
had  he  not  consulted  a  psychic  who  could  read  his  mind. 
He  had  that  information  latent  in  his  subjective  mind,  and 
it  was  necessarily  an  open  book  to  the  psychic.  If  not, 
why  not?  As  I  have  before  remarked,  the  only  possible 
alternative  is  to  deny  the  proposition  that  information 
obtained  telepathically  can  be  transmitted  telepathicatiy. 
Again  I  ask,  If  not,  why  not? 

Here,  then,  is  the  issue  clearly  defined,  reduced  to  its 
lowest  terms,  and  divested  of  all  extraneous,  irrelevant  side 
issues.  It  is  “the  last  ditch”  of  spiritism  considered  as  a 
scientific  question. 

The  proposition  is  that  — 

If  A  can  communicate  a  fact  by  means  of  telepathy  to  B, 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  I03 

it  follows  that  B  can  communicate  the  sa>ne  fact  by  the 
same  means  to  C. 

To  admit  this  proposition  to  be  true  is  to  yield  the  last 
stronghold  of  spiritism. 

To  deny  it  is  equivalent  to  affirming  that  telepathy  can 
be  employed  only  to  convey  information  received  by  some 
other  means. 

Is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that  telepathy  is  so  re¬ 
stricted  in  its  field  of  operations?  Why  should  it  be 
restricted  to  any  two  individuals  in  a  group  of  three  or 
more?  As  well  might  one  say  that  the  power  of  gravity  is 
restricted  to  two  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  that  because 
it  operates  between  the  sun  and  the  earth  it  cannot  operate 
between  the  sun  and  any  other  planet.  As  well  might  one 
assume  that  the  moon  does  not  shine  upon  the  earth,  since 
it  is  known  that  the  moon  derives  its  light  from  the  sun. 

The  logical  consequences  of  these  two  suppositions 
would  be  no  more  disastrous  to  the  planetary  universe  than 
it  is  to  the  mental  world  to  suppose  that  B  cannot  telepath 
to  C  because  A  can  telepath  to  B.  In  the  one  case  it  leads 
to  planetary  chaos ;  in  the  other  it  leads  directly  and  inev¬ 
itably  into  the  dark  and  dismal  realm  of  superstition. 

Knowledge  of  a  fact  obtained  by  means  of  telepathy  is 
just  as  much  a  part  of  the  recipient’s  stock  of  subjective 
information  as  knowledge  of  the  same  fact  obtained  in  any 
other  way.  This  being  true,  it  is  a  corollary  that  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  that  fact  can  be  telepathically  communicated  to 
another  person  without  reference  to  the  method  by  which, 
or  to  the  source  from  which,  it  was  received. 

The  last  resource  of  spiritism  is  to  deny  the  truth  of  this 
proposition.  Well  may  spiritists  hesitate  to  admit  its  truth  ; 
for  it  is  evident  to  them,  as  it  is  to  every  logical  mind,  that 
when  once  it  is  admitted  that  information  telepathically 
received  from  one  person  can  be  telepathically  communi¬ 
cated  to  another,  it  involves  the  admission  that  the  same 


104 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


information  may  be  transmitted  by  the  same  means  to  still 
another,  and  so  on,  ad  infinitum.  It  is  as  obvious  to  them 
as  it  is  to  others,  therefore,  that,  when  once  the  admission 
is  made,  there  exists  a  ready  means  of  accounting  for  every 
conceivable  case  of  alleged  spirit  communication. 

Let  us  put  the  issue  in  another  form  :  Let  us  suppose 
that  A  has  recently  died.  His  mother,  B,  is  not  a  psychic, 
and  knows  nothing,  objectively,  of  the  death  of  her  son, 
but  happens  soon  after  to  consult  a  “  medium,”  C,  who 
knows,  objectively,  nothing  of  either  A  or  B.  Then  sup¬ 
pose  that  C  informs  B  that  A  is  dead,  adding  particulars, 
which,  if  true,  demonstrate  positive  knowledge ;  and  it  is 
subsequently  found  that  the  information  is  accurate. 

Now,  one  of  the  two  following  conclusions  must  neces¬ 
sarily  be  the  true  one  :  — 

1.  The  first  is  that  A,  while  he  was  yet  living,  telepath- 
ically  communicated  the  facts  to  his  mother,  B,  and  she, 
unconsciously  receiving  the  message,  telepathically  commu¬ 
nicated  it  to  C. 

2.  The  second  is  that  the  spirit  of  the  dead  A  commu¬ 
nicated  the  facts  directly  to  C. 

Admitting  telepathy  to  be  a  power  of  the  human  mind, 
and  admitting  the  phenomenon  of  “  deferred  percipience,” 
the  great  question  is,  which  of  the  foregoing  explanations 
must  science  accept  as  the  true  one? 

This  is  the  “  crucial  ”  1  question  of  Mr.  Savage.  Here  is 
his  “  Rubicon  ”  2  which  marks  the  boundary  between  the 
two  worlds.  Unlike  the  historical  Rubicon,  upon  the  banks 
of  which  Imperial  Ctesar  paused,  it  is  both  wide  and  deep  ; 
but  they  find  a  parallel  only  in  the  tremendous  responsibili¬ 
ties  assumed  in  venturing  to  cross. 

The  supposed  case  is  identical  with  the  “  residuary  phe¬ 
nomena  ”  which  Mr.  Myers  and  Mr.  Savage  agree  in  attrib¬ 
uting  to  spirits  of  the  dead.  I  protest  that  I  am  unable  to 
1  Psychics  :  Facts  and  Theories,  p.  148.  2  Ibid.,  p.  149. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


*05 


follow  them.  I  do  not  know  of  any  rule  of  logic  or  science 
which  will  warrant  me  in  attributing  to  supermundane 
agency  any  phenomenon  which  can  be  explained  by  refer¬ 
ence  to  known  principles  of  natural  law.  Nor  do  I  know 
of  any  rule  which  would  warrant  me  in  presuming  a  super¬ 
mundane  cause  for  a  phenomenon  when  even  cognate  phe¬ 
nomena  are  explicable  under  principles  of  natural  law. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  contemplate  the  “  scientific  ”  atti¬ 
tude  which  these  gentlemen  have  assumed. 

It  is  elementary  to  say  that  no  hypothesis  can  be  true 
unless  it  is  capable  of  explaining  all  the  phenomena  per¬ 
taining  to  the  subject-matter.  In  other  words,  if  one  single 
pertinent  fact  is  inexplicable  under  an  hypothesis,  that 
hypothesis  is  necessarily  wrong.  Yet  these  gentlemen  are 
attempting  to  base  an  hypothesis  upon  a  “  small  residuum  ” 
of  phenomena,  whilst  admitting  that  the  “  vast  bulk  ”  of 
cognate  phenomena  are  explicable  under  well-known  prin¬ 
ciples  of  natural  law. 

Now,  one  of  the  primary  rules  of  scientific  investigation 
is  that  when  a  series  of  phenomena  has  been  attributed  to 
supermundane  agency,  if  one  of  that  series  can  be  shown  to 
have  been  produced  by  mundane  causes,  all  the  rest  of  the 
series  must  be  presumed  to  have  the  same  origin  until  the 
contrary  is  demonstrated. 

Under  this  rule,  no  true  scientist  or  logician  has  a  right, 
for  one  moment,  to  consider  the  spiritistic  hypothesis  as 
tenable  after  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  one  alleged 
spirit  communication  is  the  result  of  telepathic  communion 
between  the  minds  of  living  persons.  Perhaps  it  would  be 
asking  too  much  to  insist  that  the  average  advocate  of 
spiritism  should  be  governed  by  the  letter  of  this  harsh 
rule.  But  I  do  protest,  in  the  name  of  outraged  science, 
against  all  attempts  to  base  an  hypothesis  upon  a  “  small 
residuum  ”  of  phenomena. 

Primitive  man  held  that  thunder  was  the  voice  of  an 


1 05 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


angry  god.  Science  demonstrates  that  it  is  caused  by  elec¬ 
tricity  passing  between  two  clouds,  or  between  a  cloud  and 
the  earth.  Every  school-boy  now  knows,  when  he  sees  a 
flash  of  lightning,  that  electricity  is  seeking  an  equilibrium, 
and  that  he  may  expect  to  hear  thunder.  He  knows,  too, 
when  he  hears  a  peal  of  thunder,  that  a  flash  of  lightning 
has  preceded  it,  although  he  may  not  have  observed  the 
lightning.  It  would  cause  some  surprise  to  hear  a  modern 
scientist,  trained  to  habits  of  close  observation,  strict  analy¬ 
sis,  and  logical  classification  of  phenomena,  who,  having 
once  heard  a  peal  of  thunder  and  failed  to  observe  the 
flash  of  lightning  that  preceded  it,  —  I  say  it  would  cause 
some  surprise  ■  to  hear  such  a  man  calmly  observe  that 
“  thunder  is  divided  into  three  classes.  The  first  is  the 
result  of  electricity  passing  between  clouds ;  the  second  is 
the  result  of  electricity  passing  between  the  clouds  and  the 
earth.  These  comprise  the  ‘  vast  bulk  ’  of  the  phenomena  ; 
but  there  is  a  ‘  still  smaller  residuum  ’  of  thunder  which 
cannot  be  thus  accounted  for,  and  must  be  held  to  be  the 
voice  of  an  angry  god.” 

Yet  tli is  is  precisely  parallel  to  the  attitude  assumed  by 
Mr.  Myers  in  regard  to  alleged  spirit  communications. 
He  divides  them  into  three  classes,  and  admits  that  the 
“vast  bulk”  of  them  can  easily  be  explained  either  by 
reference  to  previous  knowledge  possessed  by  the  psychic, 
or  to  that  obtained  by  him  through  the  medium  of  telepathy. 
But  when  he  finds  a  case  where  the  source  of  the  telepathic 
message  is  not  entirely  obvious  to  his  mind,  he  forgets  his 
scientific  training,  and  boldly  crosses  the  Rubicon  which 
marks  the  boundary  between  the  realms  of  science  and 
superstition. 

Again,  Mr.  Savage,  in  effect,  says  that  “  it  stretches  the 
theory  of  telepathy  beyond  probability,”  to  suppose  it  pos¬ 
sible  for  a  message  received  telepathically  to  be  transmitted 
to  another  by  the  same  means. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  \OJ 

I  have  read  somewhere  of  a  “  scientist  ”  of  a  certain 
school,  who  said  that  he  could  very  well  understand  that 
the  apple  which  Newton  is  popularly  supposed  to  have  ob¬ 
served  as  it  fell  to  the  ground,  may  have  been  influenced 
by  gravity  when  it  performed  that  historic  feat.  He  was 
also  ready  to  admit  that  the  earth  —  directly  as  to  the 
mass  and  inversely  as  to  the  square  of  the  distance  — 
moved  to  meet  the  apple,  as  that  would  not  require  the 
earth  to  move  very  far,  and  consequently  it  was  not  very 
much  of  a  concession,  anyway ;  but  he  thought  it  was 
stretching  the  theory  of  gravitation  a  little  too  far  to  sup¬ 
pose  it  to  be  capable  of  reaching  out  into  the  space  and 
influencing  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  He  was  one  of  that 
numerous  class  who  are  constantly  descanting  upon  the 
“simplicity”  of  Nature’s  laws;  and  yet  he  preferred  to 
believe  that  each  planet  was  held  in  its  course  by  a  miracle. 

He  has  many  followers  to-day  who  hold  that  it  is  “  much 
easier,  and  therefore  more  in  accordance  with  the  simplicity 
of  the  operations  of  Nature,”  to  attribute  spiritistic  phe¬ 
nomena  directly  to  spirits  of  the  dead  than  to  attempt  to 
account  for  them  by  the  “complicated  ”  theory  of  telepathy. 

True,  it  is  “easier”  and  “simpler.”  It  saves  thinking. 
It  was  also  easier  and  simpler  to  suppose  that  the  earth 
was  flat.  It  complicated  matters  very  decidedly  when  it 
was  discovered  that  it  is  round ;  and  still  more  when  it  was 
found  that  it  is  not  the  centre  of  the  universe,  but  only  an 
infinitesimal  part  of  the  stupendous  whole. 

1  here  is  a  constant  tendency  in  the  popular  mind  to 
confound  simplicity  of  formula  with  simplicity  of  operation. 
The  former  is  generally  simple  to  the  last  degree.  The 
latter  is  infinitely  complicated.  Thus,  nothing  could  be 
simpler  than  the  formulas  expressing  the  three  laws  of 
Kepler.  But  what  a  vast  and  complicated  system  they 
represent  !  A  single  instance  will  illustrate  my  meaning. 

Nothing  could  exceed  in  simplicity  his  statement  that 


IOS  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

“the  planets  move  in  ellipses,  having  the  sun  in  one  focus.’’ 
The  old  astronomers,  ever  in  search  of  simplicity,  con¬ 
ceived  the  notion  that  the  planets  must  move  in  perfect 
circles  around  the  sun.  But  Tycho  Brahe’s  accurate  obser¬ 
vations,  seconded  by  Kepler’s  genius  for  generalization, 
developed  the  fact  that  the  planets  move  in  curves  of  the 
extremest  possible  complexity.  This  contrast  between  the 
simplicity  of  a  formula  and  the  complexity  of  its  application 
is  observable  in  all  of  Nature’s  operations.  It  is  true  in 
mechanics,  as  shown,  for  instance,  in  the  formula  defining 
the  power  of  the  lever.  That  formula  is  so  simple  that  a 
child  can  grasp  its  fundamental  significance ;  yet  in  every 
complicated  machine  its  powers  are  developed  and  utilized, 
with  its  various  modifications,  in  a  thousand  different  places 
and  directions;  and  in  all  animated  Nature  it  is  utilized  in 
such  an  infinity  of  complexities  as  to  defy  analysis.  This 
contrast  is  as  true  in  the  realm  of  psychology  as  it  is  else¬ 
where.  The  formulas  expressive  of  the  greatest  truths  are 
always  simple.  They  can  be  comprehended  in  their  funda¬ 
mental  significance  by  the  most  ordinary  intelligence ;  but 
a  lifetime  of  study  will  fail  to  discover  the  infinite  compli¬ 
cations  involved  in  their  practical  operations. 

Simplicity  of  operation,  therefore,  is  not  a  test  of  scien¬ 
tific  truth.  That  notion  belongs  to  the  primitive  ages  of 
scientific  investigation.  On  the  contrary,  every  new  dis¬ 
covery  of  a  natural  law  reveals  an  infinity  of  unexpected 
complications  in  the  operations  of  the  forces  of  Nature. 
Nor  is  simplicity  of  statement  a  sure  criterion  of  truth, 
although  its  opposite  always  renders  a  proposition  open  to 
suspicion.  It  is  obvious  that  an  error  can  be  formulated  in 
as  simple  terms  as  a  truth. 

Thus,  when  we  are  told  that  a  psychic  phenomenon  is 
produced  by  disembodied  spirits,  and  are  gravely  informed 
that  this  explanation  is  the  simplest,  and  therefore  more 
in  accordance  with  the  simplicity  of  Nature’s  laws  than  is, a 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


109 


'•  complicated  ”  telepathic  explanation  involving  the  exercise 
of  that  power  by  at  least  three  individuals,  the  statement 
does  not  carry  conviction  to  the  scientific  mind,  “  simple  ” 
as  the  explanation  may  be.  The  spiritistic  explanation  does 
not  explain.  It  merely  gets  rid  of  the  question  by  thrusting 
it  outside  the  domain  of  science,  outside  the  region  of  ascer¬ 
tained  facts  and  the  known  laws  of  the  human  mind. 

This  attitude  is  all  the  more  remarkable  in  a  scientist 
when  we  consider  the  fact  that  in  abandoning  the  realm  of 
demonstrated  laws  he  plunges  into  a  region  of  which  nothing 
is  definitely  known,  —  into  an  hypothetical  world,  peopled 
by  hypothetical  spirits.  And  it  is  still  more  remarkable  when 
we  reflect  that  the  only  fact  upon  which  he  could  possibly 
base  a  claim  to  a  logical  right  to  enter  the  unknown  world 
for  an  explanation,  is  the  very  fact  in  dispute.  He  does 
not  even  claim  to  have  any  fact,  or  class  of  facts,  upon 
which  to  base  his  hypothesis  of  spirit  communion  other 
than  the  very  ones  in  controversy.  His  attitude,  therefore, 
is  this  :  — 

A  phenomenon  is  to  be  accounted  for.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  is  claimed  that  it  is  explicable  by  the  well-known  facts  of 
telepathy.  On  the  other  hand,  Messrs.  Savage  and  Myers 
say,  “  No,  we  do  not  know  how  to  explain  it  by  telepathy. 
It  must,  therefore,  be  spirits  of  the  dead.”  If  asked  what 
facts  they  have  in  support  of  the  spiritistic  theory,  their  reply 
is,  “The  fact  that  it  cannot  be  explained  by  telepathy.” 
How  do  you  know  that  it  cannot  be  explained  by  telepathy  ? 
“  Because  the  phenomenon  was  produced  by  spirits.” 

In  other  words,  such  scientists  reason  in  a  circle  ;  and 
their  hypothesis  is  unsupported  by  anything  save  their  bare, 
bald  assertion  that  a  “  small  residuum  of  phenomena  ” 
proceeds  from  disembodied  spirits. 

It  may  be  replied  that  my  theory  rests  upon  the  mere 
assertion  that  the  phenomena  are  explicable  by  reference  to 
telepathy.  This,  however,  cannot  reasonably  be  said ;  for 


I  IO 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


my  theory  is  in  direct  line  with  the  well-known  and 
admitted  facts  of  telepathy,  whilst  theirs  implies  an  utter 
abandonment  of  the  domain  of  demonstrable  facts.  My 
theory  is  wholly  within  the  logical  limits  of  scientific  in¬ 
duction,  whilst  theirs  implies  a  bold  leap  into  the  realm  of 
superstition. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  “  If  two  embodied  spirits 
can  communicate  with  each  other  by  means  of  telepathy, 
why  cannot  a  disembodied  spirit  communicate  with  one 
still  in  the  flesh  by  the  same  means?  ”  My  answer  is,  I  do 
not  know.  Nor  do  I  know  of  any  one  who  does  know. 
I  submit,  however,  that  it  is  not  a  pertinent  question ;  for, 
be  the  facts  as  they  may,  it  is  obvious  that  no  one  can  tell 
why  disembodied  spirits  can  or  cannot  communicate  with 
the  living.  The  real  and  only  pertinent  question  is,  “ Do 
disembodied  spirits  communicate  with  the  living?”  The 
answer  to  this  question  must  be  made  by  each  individual 
for  himself,  and  the  character  of  the  answer  will  depend 
upon  the  evidence  before  him  and  his  capacity  for  estimating 
its  value.  My  own  answer  has  already  been  given  in  the 
preceding  pages,  and  more  fully  elsewhere.1  That  answer  is, 
that  there  is  no  valid  scientific  evidence  whatever  that 
spirits  of  the  dead  have  ever  communicated  in  any  manner 
with  living  persons.  In  investigating  this  question  I  have 
been  influenced  solely  by  a  desire  to  learn  the  truth  ;  and  in 
coming  to  this  conclusion  I  have  been  guided  by  the  rules  and 
axioms  of  logical,  scientific  investigation,  as  I  understand 
them.  Amongst  the  latter  I  have  found  none  more  worthy 
of  confidence  than  those  set  forth  by  Mr.  Myers  in  his 
admirable  Introduction  to  “  Phantasms  of  the  Living.”  One 
sentence  of  that  essay  should  be  stamped  upon  the  memory 
of  every  investigator  of  psychic  science.  It  is  this  :  “  We 
must  not  rashly  multiply  the  problems  involved  in  this  difficult 
inquiry This  declaration  refers  to  the  very  question  now 


1  See  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena.’ 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  Ill 

under  consideration ;  namely,  whether  any  part  of  the 
phenomena  of  supersensory  transference  of  thoughts  or 
messages  are  produced  by  spirits  of  the  dead.  Continuing, 
Mr.  Myers  says  :  “  It  is  certainly  safer  to  inquire  how  far  they 
can  be  explained  by  the  influences  or  impressions,  which, 
as  we  know  by  actual  experiment ,  living  persons  cati  under 
certain  circumstances  exert  or  effect  on  one  another,  in  those 
obscure  supersensory  modes  which  we  have  provisionally 
massed  together  under  the  title  of  Telepathy.”  This  is 
Mr.  Myers  the  scientist.  Mr.  Myers  the  spiritist  has, 
nevertheless,  “  rashly  multiplied  the  problems  involved  in 
this  difficult  inquiry  ”  by  ascribing  a  part  of  the  phenomena 
to  disembodied  spirits.  I  have  therefore  appealed  from 
Mr.  Myers  the  spiritist  to  Mr.  Myers  the  scientist,  —  with 
what  success  I  leave  our  readers  to  judge. 

I  have  stated  all  I  deem  it  necessary  to  say  in  regard  to 
spiritism,  considered  as  an  alleged  means  of  communicating 
with  disembodied  spirits.  I  have  confined  my  remarks 
to  the  “  residuary  phenomena  ”  which  embrace  all  that 
remains  to  be  accounted  for,  according  to  the  deliberate 
admissions  of  two  of  the  ablest  scientific  advocates  of 
spiritism  now  living.  I  do  not  expect  other  spiritists  to  be 
bound  by  their  admissions ;  for  other  spiritists  are  satisfied 
with  a  far  inferior  grade  and  weight  of  evidence  than  they 
are.  Indeed,  I  know  of  no  one  in  the  ranks  of  spiritism 
who  is  so  careful  as  they  are  in  weighing  the  value  of 
evidence  for  or  against  the  spiritistic  hypothesis.  Nor  do 
I  know  of  any  whose  qualitative  and  quantitative  analysis 
of  spiritistic  phenomena  has  left  a  smaller  residuum  of 
facts  upon  which  to  base  the  hypothesis  of  spirit  communi¬ 
cation.  The  scientific  world  will  never  cease  to  be  grateful 
to  them  for  the  painstaking  care  which  they  have  exer¬ 
cised  in  eliminating  the  “  vast  bulk  ”  of  the  phenomena 
which  have  been  attributed  to  supermundane  agency ;  and 
if  I  have  succeeded  in  reducing  them  to  a  “  still  smaller 


I  12 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


residuum,”  I  shall  beg  the  privilege  of  quietly  basking  in 
the  reflected  glory  of  their  achievements. 

As  I  remarked  at  the  opening  of  this  discussion,  I  have 
felt  compelled  to  treat  the  subject  of  spiritism  at  some  length, 
for  the  reason  that  it  is  always  of  the  first  importance  that 
the  basic  facts  under  consideration,  in  any  scientific  investi¬ 
gation,  should  be  properly  classified.  The  gentlemen  whose 
views  I  have  criticised  will  be  the  first  to  indorse  this  propo¬ 
sition.  Moreover,  each  of  us  is  in  pursuit  of  the  same  ulti¬ 
mate  object ;  namely,  a  scientific  demonstration  of  a  future 
life.  The  broad  line  of  difference  in  our  methods  of  reason¬ 
ing  up  to  that  conclusion  may  be  summed  up  briefly  as 
follows  :  — 

My  proposition  is  that  psychic  phenomena,  properly 
interpreted,  including  that  which  they  attribute  to  disem¬ 
bodied  spirits,  furnish  indubitable  evidence  of  a  future  life  ; 
and  that  the  only  interpretation  which  science  can  give  to 
such  phenomena  is  that  it  emanates  from  the  living  psychic, 
and  never  from  disembodied  spirits. 

They  hold  that  psychic  phenomena,  of  the  so-called 
spiritistic  variety,  are  valuable  as  evidence  of  a  future  life 
only  on  the  supposition  that  they,  or  some,  of  them  at  least, 
emanate  directly  from  disembodied  spirits ;  and  that  a 
demonstration  that  disembodied  spirits  can  communicate 
with  the  living  constitutes  a  demonstration  that  there  is 
a  future  life  for  mankind. 

I  hold  that  so-called  spiritistic  phenomena  are  valuable 
as  evidence  of  a  future  life  only  on  the  supposition  that 
none  of  them  emanate  from  disembodied  spirits.  My  rea¬ 
sons  are  briefly  these  :  — 

In  the  first  place,  two  antagonistic  hypotheses  cannot 
both  be  correct ;  nor  can  each  be  partly  true  and  partly 
false  :  for  any  hypothesis  that  does  not  explain  all  the 
facts  is  necessarily  wrong,  and  therefore  utterly  valueless. 
Thus,  if  any  one  of  a  series  of  so-called  spiritistic  phe- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  1 1 3 

nomena  can  be  demonstrated  to  emanate  from  disembodied 
spirits,  the  telepathic  hypothesis  is  necessarily  invalid  as  a 
solvent  for  that  series  of  phenomena.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  one  of  said  series  can  be  demonstrated  to  be  referable  to 
telepathy  between  living  persons,  the  spiritistic  hypothesis 
is  necessarily  wrong.  In  other  words,  it  is  a  logical  neces¬ 
sity  that,  as  between  two  antagonistic  hypotheses,  one  or  the 
other  must  be  wholly  right  and  the  other  wholly  wrong,  or 
both  must  be  wholly  wrong.  The  nature  of  the  case  does 
not  admit  of  compromise  ;  for  principles  of  natural  law  are 
not  established  by  majorities  of  facts,  nor  are  there  excep¬ 
tions  in  the  operation  of  natural  laws.  It  follows  that  if 
one  psychic  phenomenon  could  be  scientifically  demon¬ 
strated  to  have  been  produced  by  disembodied  spirits,  the 
whole  subject  would  be  relegated  to  logical  chaos,  and  some 
solution  of  the  mystery  would  have  to  be  sought  for  other 
than  that  embraced  in  either  of  the  hypotheses  under 
consideration. 

Moreover,  if  all  the  phenomena  which  have  been  ascribed 
to  supermundane  agency  could  be  demonstrated  to  proceed 
from  disembodied  spirits,  the  problem  of  a  future  life  would 
be  not  a  whit  nearer  to  a  solution  than  it  was  when  Job 
propounded  his  momentous  question ;  for  the  question  of 
spirit  identity  would  still  arise  to  plague  the  faithful.  It 
will  not  be  denied  that  the  question  of  spirit  identity  is, 
and  ever  has  been,  the  one  great  problem  which  defies 
solution.  Nor  will  it  be  denied  that,  if  it  is  true  that  spirits 
do  communicate  with  the  living,  there  is  indubitable  evi¬ 
dence  that  there  are  evil  spirits  as  well  as  good  ;  that  there 
are  ignorant  spirits  as  well  as  enlightened ;  that  there  are 
“  spirits  of  health  ”  as  well  as  “  goblins  damned  ;  ”  and  that 
their  intents  are  sometimes  “  wicked  ”  and  sometimes 
“  charitable.”  If,  therefore,  we  are  forced  to  accept  al¬ 
leged  spirit  communications  as  genuine  emanations  from 
disembodied  spirits,  it  by  no  manner  of  means  follows  that 


114  demonstration  of  the  future  life. 

one  of  them  comes  from  a  spirit  who  has  once  been  incar¬ 
nated  ;  and  the  problem  of  a  future  life  for  man  is  just  as 
far  from  a  solution  as  it  was  before  kitchen  furniture  began 
to  testify  and  hysterical  women  to  teach  the  science  of  the 
soul. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ANCIENT  PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA. 


The  Importance  of  Correct  Classification  of  Phenomena.  —  The 
Science  of  the  Soul. — The  Phenomena  of  the  Soul.  — Old  Tes¬ 
tament  Records.  —  The  Pentateuch.  —  The  Higher  Criticism. — 
The  Psychic  History  of  the  Children  of  Israel.  —  Unreasoning 
Scepticism.  —  Aaron’s  Rod.  —  Moses  as  a  Psychic.  —  His  Methods 
and  his  Instrumentalities. — The  God  of  Moses.  —  His  Human 
Characteristics.  —  His  Advice  to  “  spoil  the  Egyptians.”  —  Moses’ 
Interview  with  God  on  Mount  Sinai.  —  The  Molten  Calf.  —  The 
Anger  of  God.  —  His  Determination  to  destroy  the  Children  of 
Israel.  —  Moses  argues  the  Question.  —  He  causes  God  to  Re¬ 
pent. —  Renewal  of  the  Covenant.  —  Objective  Moses  vs.  Sub¬ 
jective  Moses. 

T  F  my  remarks  thus  far  made  have  led  the  reader  to  infer 
*  that  I  regard  the  phenomena  of  spiritism  as  an  unmixed 
evil,  I  hasten  to  remove  the  impression.  Of  no  phenom¬ 
enon  of  Nature  can  this  properly  be  said.  The  phenomena 
of  Nature  are  the  facts  of  Nature  ;  and  it  is  from  those  facts 
that  we  must  study  the  sciences.  It  is  only  when  we 
wrongly  interpret  or  erroneously  classify  a  fact,  that  it 
bears  upon  its  face  the  appearance  of  evil,  or  is  divested  of 
its  importance  to  mankind.  Every  fact  in  Nature  is  im¬ 
portant  if  properly  classified  and  interpreted.  Conversely, 
if  the  most  apparently  insignificant  fact  is  improperly  classi¬ 
fied,  it  often  becomes  a  stumbling-block  of  great  magnitude 
in  the  pathway  of  the  searcher  after  truth.  No  true  scien¬ 
tist  can,  or  will  attempt  to,  deny  the  truth  of  these  ele¬ 
mentary  propositions.  My  remarks  relating  to  psychic 


II 6  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

phenomena  have  thus  far  been  made  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  properly  classifying  a  very  important  series  of  psychic 
facts,  —  the  facts  of  so-called  spiritism.  No  one  will  deny 
the  importance  of  this  first  step,  if  we  are  to  study  the  sub¬ 
ject  scientifically.  That  we  must  study  it  scientifically  if 
we  would  arrive  at  the  truth,  all  will  admit. 

Psychology  is,  or  should  be,  an  exact  science.  There  is 
no  more  reason  why  it  should  not  be  an  exact  science  than 
there  is  why  astronomy  or  electricity  should  be  left  out  of 
that  category ;  provided  always  that  we  apply  the  same 
rules  of  investigation  to  psychology  that  we  apply  to  any  of 
the  other  sciences.  To  that  end,  the  one  fundamental  pre¬ 
requisite  is  that  we  carefully  and  conscientiously  study  the 
facts.  In  doing  this,  however,  the  first  thing  needful  is  to 
divest  ourselves  of  all  prejudice  arising  from  preconceived 
opinions  of  our  own.  The  second,  which  is  equally  impor¬ 
tant,  is  to  divest  our  minds  of  all  prejudice  in  favor  of  the 
opinions  of  others  whose  conclusions  are  not  based  upon 
well-authenticated  phenomena.  The  third,  and  perhaps 
the  most  important  of  all,  is  that  we  should  divest  ourselves 
of  all  emotional  opinions.  It  is  to  the  misdirected  emo¬ 
tions  of  mankind  that  the  world  has  been  indebted  for  all 
the  opposition  that  has  ever  been  directed  against  the 
progress  of  science.  It  was  the  misdirected  and  perverted 
emotion  of  religious  worship  that  directed  the  tortures  and 
lighted  the  fires  of  the  Inquisition,  and  has  again  and  again 
drenched  the  earth  with  human  blood ;  and  no  one  will 
deny  that  the  ranks  of  spiritism  are  to-day  largely  recruited 
from  the  class  of  people  who  allow  their  emotions  to  blind 
their  judgment.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  we  should  guard  ourselves  against  the  tendency  to 
emotionalism  when  studying  the  science  of  psychology ;  for 
those  very  emotions  constitute  a  most  important  part  of  the 
facts  which  we  shall  be  called  upon  calmly  to  investigate. 

The  term  “  psychology  ”  is  derived  from  the  two  Greek 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  1 1 7 

words  psyche,  the  soul,  and  logos,  a  treatise.  Psychology 
is,  therefore,  the  science  of  the  soul. 

Like  every  other  science,  it  must  be  studied  by  and 
through  the  observation  of  the  facts  pertaining  to  the  sub¬ 
ject  treated.  As  the  science  of  astronomy  must  be  studied 
by  observing  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the 
science  of  chemistry  by  the  study  of  chemical  combinations 
and  reactions,  the  science  of  geology  by  a  study  of  the 
physical  structure  of  the  earth ;  so  must  the  science  of 
psychology  be  studied  by  and  through  the  observation  of 
the  phenomena  of  the  soul. 

To  reduce  my  propositions  to  a  more  orderly  form,  they 
stand  thus  :  — 

1.  The  Psyche,  or  what  I  have  elsewhere  termed  the 
“subjective  mind,”  is  the  soul. 

2.  The  phenomena  of  the  soul  are,  therefore,  what  are 
generally  termed  “psychic  phenomena.” 

3.  The  soul  is  the  source  of  all  psychic  phenomena. 

4.  The  emotions  of  religious  worship,  and  the  longings 
for  immortal  life,  are  psychic  phenomena. 

5.  It  follows  that  the  facts  which  we  must  study,  and  from 
which  we  must  deduce  all  legitimate,  logical  conclusions 
relating  to  the  science  of  the  soul,  consist  of  observable 
psychic  phenomena. 

It  is  only  by  an  appeal  to  these  facts  that  we  can  scien¬ 
tifically  demonstrate  that  man  has  a  soul.  It  is  by  reference 
to  psychic  phenomena  alone  that  the  existence  of  a  Deity 
can  be  demonstrated.  Physical  science  can  do  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other ;  nor  can  it  throw  more  than  the 
faintest  glimmer  of  light  upon  either  question. 

To  the  materialistic  scientist  physical  nature  conceals  all 
that  man  would  know  of  God  or  of  his  own  soul.  Psychic 
phenomena  alone  reveals  that  knowledge. 

The  science  of  the  soul  is,  therefore,  necessarily  the 
science  of  religion.  To  attempt  to  divorce  religion  from 


1 1  8  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRA  TION 

psychic  phenomena  is  to  attempt  the  impossible.  It  is  only 
when  psychic  phenomena  are  misinterpreted  that  the  cause 
of  religion  falls  into  disrepute,  or  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
living  God  is  withheld  from  mankind. 

Ignorance  of  psychic  laws  has  placed  gods  upon  the 
throne  of  heaven  possessing  all  the  frailties,  weaknesses,  and 
passions  common  to  mankind.  It  has  peopled  the  earth 
with  “  spirits  of  health  ”  and  with  “  goblins  damned.”  It 
has  been  the  source  of  every  superstition  that  has  ever  ter¬ 
rified  the  soul  and  warped  the  judgment  of  man.  It  has 
created  a  material  hell  and  filled  it  with  demons,  a  material 
heaven  and  peopled  it  with  demigods. 

On  the  other  hand,  grossly  as  psychic  phenomena  have 
been  misunderstood,  the  fact  still  remains  that  they  have 
constituted  the  foundation  of  every  religion  worthy  of  the 
name.  Such  phenomena  have  been  the  only  means  whereby 
man  has  been  led  to  the  conception  of  a  higher  power. 
They  have  constituted  the  basis  of  his  hope  for  a  life 
beyond  the  grave  ;  and  they  have  furnished  the  evidence  of 
the  divine  mission  of  all  the  epoch-making  characters  who 
have  been  instrumental  in  lifting  the  souls  of  men  to  a 
higher  moral  and  spiritual  plane.  In  a  word,  they  have 
constituted  the  great  bulwark  which  has  protected  mankind 
against  the  assaults  of  materialism  and  its  consequent  moral 
irresponsibility. 

The  spiritual  history  of  man  is,  therefore,  but  a  record  of 
psychic  phenomena. 

In  the  world’s  intellectual  infancy  all  the  phenomena  of 
Nature  were  of  necessity  grossly  misinterpreted.  Science, 
however,  has  revealed  much  of  truth  concerning  the  laws  of 
the  material  universe.  It  has  removed  physical  Nature  from 
the  domain  of  the  supernatural,  and  safely  conducted  it 
within  the  province  of  induction.  The  future  of  physical 
science  is,  therefore,  assured.  None  of  its  phenomena  will 
ever  again  be  relegated  to  the  realms  of  the  supernatural. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


1 19 

Its  future  is  eternal  progress.  Spiritual  science  has  yet  to 
be  formulated  and  brought  within  the  realm  of  induction. 

The  Old  Testament  records  furnish  the  most  striking 
illustrations  of  what  I  have  said  of  misinterpreted  psychic 
phenomena.  Much  valuable  time  has  heretofore  been  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  discussion  of  questions  pertaining  to  the 
authenticity  and  the  historical  accuracy  of  the  Pentateuch. 
Countless '  treatises-  have  been  written,  displaying  profound 
learning  and  patient  research,  in  which  are  discussed  questions 
such  as  whether  Moses  is  the  author  of  the  whole,  or  of  only 
a  part,  or,  indeed,  of  any  of  the  Pentateuch ;  whether  it  is 
an  historical  work,  or  merely  legendary  and  poetical  (De 
Wette)  ;  whether  Ezra  was  its  sole  author,  as  also  of  all  the 
other  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  (Spinoza)  ;  or 
whether  it  is  an  agglomeration  of  fragments  written  by  many 
men  at  different  epochs  (Geddes) .  Much  ingenuity  has  also 
been  displayed  in  attempts  to  prove  that  the  whole  has  a 
mystical  meaning ;  in  which  efforts  its  historical  possibilities 
are  entirely  ignored. 

The  rabbins  held  that  all  but  a  small  portion  of  the  latter 
part  of  Deuteronomy  was  written  by  Moses.  From  the 
Jewish  synagogues  this  belief  was  inherited  by  the  Christian 
Church,  and  it  is  still  widely  prevalent  among  Christians  of 
the  present  day.  It  was  not  until  the  seventeenth  century 
that  the  belief  was  seriously  challenged  or  the  doctrine  of 
plenary  inspiration  questioned  by  any  part  of  the  Church. 
The  higher  criticism  of  more  recent  times,  however,  has 
done  much  to  dispel  the  palpable  errors  of  former  beliefs, 
and  to  bring  comparative  order  out  of  legendary  chaos. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  enter  the  prolific  field  of  discus¬ 
sion  which  these  questions  present.  I  wish,  however,  briefly 
to  touch  upon  what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  salient  feature 
of  the  Old  Testament  records ;  namely,  their  character  as 
depositories  of  psychic  facts. 

It  is  fashionable  to  deride  the  history  of  the  children  of 


120 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


Israel  and  of  their  exodus  from  the  land  of  their  bondage 
and  their  sorrows.  The  unreasoning  sceptic  regards  it  as 
a  fiction,  written  in  the  infancy  of  the  human  intellect,  by 
men  whose  minds  were  dominated  by  superstitions,  or  by 
the  priesthood  for  their  own  aggrandizement  and  the  subju¬ 
gation  of  their  followers.  Even  those  who  believe  in  the 
plenary  inspiration  of  the  Bible  and  the  literal  truth  of  the 
Mosaic  account  of  creation,  find  it  hard  to  identify  the  God 
of  love,  mercy,  and  benevolence  which  Christ  taught  man¬ 
kind  to  adore,  with  the  God  of  Moses,  who  was  character¬ 
ized  by  all  the  weakness,  passion,  jealousy,  cruelty,  and 
vindictiveness  common  to  primitive  humanity.  It  seems 
evident  that  between  the  extremes  of  unreasoning  scepticism 
on  the  one  hand  and  of  equally  unreasoning  credulity  on  the 
other,  the  truth  must  be  found.  When  it  is  sought  in  that 
direction,  it  will  be  discovered  that  the  questions  of  author¬ 
ship  and  dates  possess  very  little  importance  compared  with 
the  insight  which  will  be  gained  of  the  first  great  step  in  the 
evolution  of  spiritual  man. 

As  before  intimated,  it  is  from  the  psychical  standpoint 
that  we  must  study  the  early  history  of  the  religion  of 
the  Jews ;  and  as  it  is  from  that  religion  that  the  religion 
of  Christendom  has  been  evolved,  the  subject  possesses 
the  most  transcendent  interest  and  importance. 

If  any  one  who  understands  the  elementary  principles 
involved  in  the  production  of  the  psychic  phenomena 
known  to  this  generation  as  “  spiritistic,”  will,  in  the  light 
of  that  knowledge,  read  the  Old  Testament,  particularly 
that  part  of  the  Pentateuch  relating  to  the  exodus  of  the 
children  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  he  will  find  a  record  of 
psychic  phenomena  unsurpassed  by  any  of  the  alleged 
performances  of  the  adepts  of  the  Orient.  Viewed  in  that 
light,  it  will  be  found  that  many  of  the  statements  there 
recorded,  which  have  provoked  the  scepticism  and  excited 
the  ridicule  of  a  great  portion  of  the  human  family,  will 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


12  I 


assume  such  an  air  of  probability  that  they  maybe  regarded 
as  within  the  range  of  possible  history.  In  saying  this,  I  do 
not  take  into  account  the  so-called  miracle  of  the  rod  of 
Aaron,  which,  thrown  upon  the  ground,  changed  into  a 
serpent ;  although  it  is  no  more  wonderful  than  many  of 
the  alleged  facts  of  the  Yogis  of  India  which  seem  to  be 
well  authenticated.  Indeed,  those  feats  of  Moses  and  Aaron 
were  paralleled  at  the  time  by  those  of  Pharaoh’s  magicians 
and  sorcerers,  whose  rods  also  exhibited  the  same  phe¬ 
nomena  when  thrown  upon  the  ground ;  albeit  the  rod  of 
Aaron  demonstrated  his  greater  power  as  a  magician.  The 
point  is  that  it  was  the  same  power  in  the  one  case  as  in  the 
other.  If  the  magicians  did  their  work  within  the  domain 
of  natural  law,  we  have  no  right  to  suppose  that  Aaron  tran¬ 
scended  that  limit.  Assuming  the  statements  to  be  true,  the 
only  legitimate  conclusion  is  that  Aaron  was  the  greater 
magician.  In  other  words,  the  same  principle  that  I  have 
so  often  tried  to  enforce  applies  here  ;  namely,  that  we  have 
no  logical  or  scientific  right  to  attribute  any  phenomenon  to 
supernatural  agency  when  cognate  phenomena  are  explicable 
by  reference  to  natural  causes. 

But  it  is  not  of  the  phenomena  recorded  in  the  Pentateuch 
where  the  modern  parallels  are  involved  in  scientific  doubt 
that  I  wish  to  speak.  The  salient  feature  of  the  psychic 
career  of  Moses  consists  in  his  supposed  communion  with 
God.  Of  those  phenomena  we  have  innumerable  parallels 
in  modern  times  which  are  scientifically  authenticated,  and 
we  know  something  of  the  laws  which  pertain  to  their 
production. 

That  Moses  was  a  psychic,  is  evident.  He  was  familiar 
with  all  the  occult  arts  known  to  the  magicians  and  con¬ 
jurers  of  Egypt.  He  had  been  educated  partly  in  the 
household  of  the  Egyptian  royal  family ;  but  his  early 
training  was  in  his  mother’s  home  and  family,  and  he  was 
consequently  imbued  with  a  belief  in  the  God  of  Israel  and 


122 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


reverence  for  his  name.  His  conception  of  the  attributes 
of  the  Deity  was  necessarily  limited  by  the  prevalent  beliefs 
of  his  people  and  the  traditions  of  his  ancestry.  He  was 
wise,  energetic,  and  ambitious.  Educated  and  reared  in 
the  household  of  Pharaoh’s  daughter,  he  was  advanced 
far  beyond  his  people  in  knowledge  and  practical  educa¬ 
tion.  He  had  not  shared  the  miseries  of  their  bondage, 
nor  had  his  spirit  been  broken  by  the  tyranny  of  their 
taskmasters ;  but  his  sympathies  were  with  them,  and 
his  proud,  imperious  soul  revolted  against  the  oppression 
and  degradation  of  his  people.  His  mind  was  the  store¬ 
house  of  the  traditions  of  his  race,  and  he  had  faith  in 
the  promise  of  the  God  of  his  fathers.  That  promise 
had  been  a  tradition  handed  down  to  the  Israelites 
from  a  remote  ancestry.  It  sustained  them  during  all 
the  long  years  of  their  bondage,  it  encouraged  them 
during  all  the  long  and  weary  journey  in  the  wilderness, 
and  it  is  still  a  living  element  of  the  religion  of  that  race. 
That  Moses  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  faith  in  that  prom¬ 
ise,  is  shown  by  the  facts  of  his  subsequently  reminding  God 
of  it  at  critical  periods  in  the  history  of  the  exodus,  — 

“  Remember  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Israel,  thy  servants,  to 
whom  thou  swarest  by  thine  own  self,  and  saidst  unto  them,  I 
will  multiply  your  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  all  this  land 
that  I  have  spoken  of  will  I  give  unto  your  seed,  and  they  shall 
inherit  it  forever.” 

Moreover,  Moses  had  committed  a  crime  which  com¬ 
pelled  him  to  flee  from  his  native  land  to  escape  the 
vengeance  of  the  king.  During  the  long  years  of  his 
exile  he  had  cherished  a  personal  hatred  of  the  reign¬ 
ing  family  of  Egypt,  for  that  “  Pharaoh  sought  to  slay 
him.”  Undoubtedly  that  feeling  extended  to  the  whole 
Egyptian  race,  and  added  a  potent  element  to  the  com¬ 
bination  of  circumstances  all  of  which  conspired  to  point 
to  him  as  the  future  deliverer  of  his  people  from  their 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


123 


slavery.  That  such  a  chain  of  circumstances  would 
naturally  be  so  construed  by  such  a  man  as  the  biogra¬ 
phers  of  Moses  have  portrayed,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
That  this  was  the  actual  effect  upon  his  mind,  cannot  be 
questioned  in  view  of  subsequent  events.  His  mind  was 
filled  to  saturation  with  the  auto-suggestion  which  crys¬ 
tallized  in  the  vision  which  he  saw  on  Mount  Horeb,  and 
which  found  voice  in  the  command  there  given  to  go 
into  Egypt,  deliver  his  people  from  their  bondage,  and 
conduct  them  to  the  promised  land.  In  view  of  the 
developments  of  modern  science,  there  can  be  no  other 
rational  interpretation  of  the  phenomenon  alleged  to  have 
occurred  on  Mount  Horeb.  He  was  a  psychic.  He 
subjectively  saw  the  vision  of  the  burning  bush,  and  he 
subjectively  (clair-audiently)  heard  the  voice.  His  educa¬ 
tion  and  habit  of  thought  produced  an  auto-suggestion 
that  it  was  the  voice  of  God ;  and,  true  to  the  universal 
law  of  suggestion,  it  assumed  to  be  the  voice  of  God. 
The  effect  of  this  vision  and  of  this  command  upon  the 
mind  of  such  a  man  as  Moses  could  have  been  no  other 
than  what  it  is  represented  to  have  been.  It  gave  direc¬ 
tion,  tone,  and  color  to  his  whole  subsequent  career ;  and 
the  events  which  followed  constitute  a  history  of  psychic 
phenomena  which  find  many  parallels  in  the  subsequent 
developments  of  psychic  research.  Doubtless  many  of 
them  have  been  exaggerated  by  his  historians,  and  many 
have  been  evolved  from  their  inner  consciousness.  But 
enough  remains,  after  all  due  allowances  are  made,  to 
constitute  a  history  the  credible  events  of  which  are  of 
the  utmost  value  to  mankind ;  for  without  them  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  evolution  of  the  spiritual  man  would  not  be 
^complete. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  trace  in  all  its  details  the  history 
■of  the  psychic  manifestations  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment.  My  primary  object  is  to  suggest  a  line  of  study 


134 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


which  cannot  fail  to  interest  the  student  of  psychology,  and 
which  may  lead  to  important  conclusions.  It  is  important, 
however,  that  the  salient  features  of  the  communications 
which  it  is  alleged  that  God  made  to  Moses  and  the 
prophets  should  be  noted ;  for  it  is  by  the  character  of  the 
communications  themselves  that  they  must  be  judged.  If 
they  actually  emanated  from  the  Deity,  surely  there  will  not 
be  lacking  internal  evidence  to  sustain  that  hypothesis.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  they  emanated  from  a  finite  intelligence, 
their  character  and  content  cannot  fail  to  demonstrate  the 
fact.  In  other  words,  we  must  apply  the  same  standards 
of  comparison  to  the  psychic  manifestations  of  Moses  that 
we  employ  when  estimating  the  value  and  determining  the 
source  of  the  messages  delivered  through  the  psychics  of 
to-day.  The  most  ardent  spiritist,  possessed  of  sufficient 
intelligence  to  seek  shelter  during  the  progress  of  a  storm, 
would  not  ask  us  to  credit  the  statement  of  a  psychic  that  a 
message  emanates  from  the  spirit  of  a  Webster,  when  it  is 
couched  in  the  language  of  a  stevedore.  Nor  can  we  be 
expected  to  believe  that  a  message  emanates  from  the 
Deity  when  we  find  that  it  exhibits  all  the  passions  and 
frailties  of  our  common  humanity.  It  will  not  be  denied 
by  the  most  ardent  advocate  of  the  dogma  of  plenary 
inspiration  that  the  God  of  Moses,  as  represented  in  the 
Pentateuch,  exhibited  many  of  the  frailties  and  some  of  the 
vices  of  human  nature.  Nor  will  it  be  denied  that  this  fact 
has  been  a  potent  weapon  in  the  hands  of  scepticism  in  all 
ages  of  the  civilized  world.  The  contrast  between  the  God 
of  Moses  and  the  God  whom  Jesus  proclaimed  to  mankind 
is  too  violent  to  permit  even  the  most  ardent  Christian  to 
recognize  their  identity.  Hence  the  resort  to  the  theory  of 
the  symbolism  of  the  Pentateuch  on  the  one  hand  and  of 
its  mysticism  on  the  other.  It  was  a  wise  remark  of  Dante 
that,  before  we  attempt  to  explain  the  mystical  meaning  of 
a  passage  of  Scripture,  it  is  well  to  be  certain  that  the  pas- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


125 


sage  is  mystic.  This  rule  embraces  a  world  of  practical 
wisdom ;  but  it  is  not  generally  followed.  Hence  there 
has  been  a  great  deal  of  mystical  meaning  extracted  from 
the  Bible  where  no  possible  mysticism  was  intended ;  and 
much  symbolism  has  been  drawn  out  of  passages  that  are 
not  symbolical.  It  may  be  difficult  at  times  to  determine 
whether  or  not  a  mystical  meaning  is  to  be  drawn  from  a 
particular  passage  ;  but  there  is  one  characteristic  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  which  renders  it  reasonably  certain  that  a  passage 
is  neither  mystical  nor  symbolical.  When  the  author 
assumes  to  be  relating  historical  facts,  and  the  circum¬ 
stances  which  he  details  accord  with  the  experience  of 
mankind,  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  the  passage  is  not 
mystical.  It  may  be  fiction,  but  it  is  neither  mysticism 
nor  symbolism.  The  application  of  this  test  will  re¬ 
move  a  very  important  part  of  the  Old  Testament  out¬ 
side  the  range  of  the  symbolical  theory.  This  remark 
applies  particularly  to  the  psychic  phenomena  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking.  As  these  phenomena  consist 
largely  of  the  alleged  communion  of  God  with  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  I  propose  briefly  to  examine  one  or 
two  examples  which  seem  to  combine  the  essential  features 
of  them  all. 

One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  the  intensely  finite, 
human  character  of  the  God  of  Moses  is  found  in  the 
advice  given  to  the  latter  during  their  first  interview  on 
Mount  Horeb.  After  commanding  Moses  to  go  to  Pharaoh 
and  demand  the  release  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  prom¬ 
ising  to  conduct  the  latter  to  a  “  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey,”  he  said,  — 

“  And  I  will  give  this  people  favor  in  the  sight  of  the  Egyp¬ 
tians  :  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that,  when  ye  go,  ye  shall  not 
go  empty : 

“  But  every  woman  shall  borrow  of  her  neighbor,  and  of  her 
that  sojourneth  in  her  house,  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold, 


i  j6 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


and  raiment:  and  ye  shall  put  them  upon  your  sons,  and  upon 
your  daughters;  and  ye  shall  spoil  the  Egyptians.”  1 

Comment  upon  the  intensely  human  character  of  this 
advice  would  seem  superfluous. 

Perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  the  human  characteristics 
of  the  God  of  Moses  is  found  in  the  thirty-second  chapter 
of  Exodus.  It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  children 
of  Israel  arrived  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai  and  pitched 
their  encampment,  Moses  went  up  into  the  mount  to  com¬ 
mune  with  God,  and  remained  there  forty  days.  It  was  then 
that  the  “  tables  of  stone  ”  were  prepared,  and  “  written  with 
the  finger  of  God.” 

The  account  of  the  events  which  happened  during  the 
long  absence  of  Moses  continues  as  follows :  — 

“  And  when  the  people  saw  that  Moses  delayed  to  come  down 
out  of  the  mount,  the  people  gathered  themselves  together  unto 
Aaron,  and  said  unto  him,  Up,  make  us  gods  which  shall  go 
before  us :  for  as  for  this  Moses,  the  man  that  brought  us  up 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  we  wot  not  what  is  become  of  him. 

“  And  Aaron  said  unto  them,  Break  off  the  golden  ear-rings, 
which  are  in  the  ears  of  your  wives,  of  your  sons,  and  of  your 
daughters,  and  bring  them  unto  me. 

“  And  all  the  people  brake  off  the  golden  ear-rings  which 
were  in  their  ears  and  brought  them  unto  Aaron. 

“  And  he  received  them  at  their  hand,  and  fashioned  it  with  a 
graving  tool,  after  he  had  made  it  a  molten  calf :  and  they  said, 
These  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which  brought  thee  up  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

“  And  when  Aaron  saw  it,  he  built  an  altar  before  it ;  and 
Aaron  made  proclamation,  and  said,  To-morrow  is  a  feast  to 
the  Lord. 

“  And  they  rose  up  early  on  the  morrow,  and  offered  burnt- 
offerings,  and  brought  peace-offerings :  and  the  people  sat 
down  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and  rose  up  to  play. 

“  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Go,  get  thee  down  :  for  thy 
people,  which  thou  broughtest  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  have 
corrupted  themselves: 


1  Exodus  iii.  21,  22. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


127 


“They  have  turned  aside  quickly  out  of  the  way  which  I 
commanded  them  :  they  have  made  them  a  molten  calf,  and 
have  worshipped  it,  and  have  sacrificed  thereunto,  and  said, 
These  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which  have  brought  thee  up  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt. 

“  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  I  have  seen  this  people, 
and,  behold,  it  is  a  stiff-necked  people : 

“  Now  therefore  let  me  alone,  that  my  wrath  may  wax  hot 
against  them,  and  that  I  may  consume  them:  and  I  will  make 
of  thee  a  great  nation. 

“And  Moses  besought  the  Lord  his  God,  and  said,  Lord, 
why  doth  thy  wrath  wax  hot  against  thy  people,  which  thou 
hast  brought  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  with  great  power, 
and  with  a  mighty  hand? 

“Wherefore  should  the  Egyptians  speak  and  say,  For  mis¬ 
chief  did  he  bring  them  out,  to  slay  them  in  the  mountains,  and 
to  consume  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth?  Turn  from  thy 
fierce  wrath,  and  repent  of  this  evil  against  thy  people. 

“  Remember  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Israel,  thy  servants,  to 
whom  thou  swarest  by  thine  own  self,  and  saidst  unto  them,  I 
will  multiply  your  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  all  this  land 
that  I  have  spoken  of  will  I  give  unto  your  seed,  and  they  shall 
inherit  it  forever. 

“  And  the  Lord  repented  of  the  evil  which  he  thought  to  do 
unto  his  people.”  1 

Of  course,  there  will  always  be  room  for  a  variety  of 
opinions  concerning  the  true  interpretation  of  these  pas¬ 
sages  of  Scripture.  By  the  unreasoning  sceptic  they  will 
always  be  regarded  as  purely  fictitious ;  although  we  have 
no  logical  right  to  dismiss  them  thus  so  long  as  there 
remains  any  other  rational  interpretation.  A  book  which, 
in  all  ages  of  the  civilized  world,  has  been  regarded  by  a 
large  and  intelligent  part  of  the  human  family  as  sacred 
history,  cannot  be  dismissed  without  a  respectful  hearing. 

By  many  these  passages  will  always  be  regarded  as  sym¬ 
bolical  ;  although  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  they  can 
possibly  prefigure,  what  practical  lesson  they  can  teach, 
what  principle  they  can  symbolize. 


1  Exodus  xxxii.  1-14. 


128 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


By  a  few  they  will  always  be  regarded  as  literal  truth, 
written  by  divinely  inspired  men ;  although  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  how  they  can  reconcile  the  crude  and  primitive 
conceptions  of  God  which  these  passages  develop  with  that 
grand  and  noble  conception  of  the  Deity  which  Christ 
taught  to  mankind. 

By  most  people,  however,  the  Pentateuch  will  be  regarded 
as  a  collection  of  traditions  handed  down  through  many 
generations,  corrupted  in  their  transmission,  recorded  by 
different  individuals,  and  collected  and  arranged  by  some 
one  or  more  writers  not  definitely  identified.  That  this  is 
the  true  hypothesis,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  in  view  of  the 
developments  of  the  higher  criticism  of  modern  times. 

There  is,  however,  always  truth  in  tradition.  No  matter 
how  grossly  the  original  story  may  have  been  corrupted  in 
its  transmission  from  mouth  to  mouth  through  the  ages  of 
its  life,  the  salient  feature  of  a  national  tradition  always 
retains  its  identity  and  essential  character.  The  imagina¬ 
tion  of  those  through  whom  it  passes  may  add  details 
embodying  their  own  notions  of  what  ought  to  have  been 
true,  and  the  story  may  thus  grow  in  magnitude,  lose  co¬ 
herency,  and  possibly  become  a  grotesque  caricature  of  the 
original.  But  the  central  idea  retains  its  identity,  and,  to  a 
certain  extent,  its  consistency ;  for  its  foundation  is  gen¬ 
erally  some  important  truth.  And  the  vitality  of  truth  is 
such  that  it  can  never  be  wholly  extinguished,  however 
thickly  it  may  be  overlaid  with  error.  “  The  eternal  years 
of  God  are  hers.” 

Now  the  central  truth  of  the  Mosaic  traditions  consists 
of  the  fact  that  Moses  believed  himself  to  be  in  direct 
communion  with  God.  The  fact  that  he  was  in  error 
regarding  the  source  of  his  communications  does  not 
militate  against  the  verity  of  the  tradition.  He  believed 
it  to  be  God,  and  his  followers  so  believed ;  and  to  them  it 
was  a  most  vital  truth,  for  it  gave  tone  and  color  and  sub- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


129 


stance  to  the  Jewish  nation.  It  was  during  those  commu¬ 
nications  that  the  covenant  was  from  time  to  time  renewed, 
—  the  covenant  which  God  had  made  with  Abraham  and 
with  Isaac  and  with  Jacob,  that  their  seed  should  “  multiply 
as  the  stars  of  heaven,”  that  they  should  be  his  “  chosen 
people,”  and  that  the  “  land  of.  Canaan  should  be  their 
inheritance  forever.”  It  was  their  faith  in  this  covenant 
that  sustained  them  in  every  adversity  and  filled  them  with 
a  pride  and  a  hope  which  has  not  yet  ceased  to  be  a  vital¬ 
izing  element  in  their  national  and  religious  character.  It 
was  inevitable,  therefore,  that  the  central  idea  of  their 
national  tradition  should  be  preserved.  It  was  also  more 
than  likely  that  the  main  feature  of  the  methods  and  of  the 
paraphernalia  employed  by  Moses  in  carrying  on  his  inter¬ 
course  with  God  should  be  preserved  practically  intact  in 
the  national  tradition.  All  the  other  facts  and  alleged  facts 
of  Jewish  history  up  to  that  time  were  utterly  insignificant 
beside  the  one  central  idea  that  God  had  appeared  unto 
Moses,  talked  habitually  and  familiarly  with  him,  and  had 
covenanted  with  them  to  give  them  the  land  of  Canaan  for 
an  inheritance  forever,  and  to  make  of  them  a  great  nation. 
It  is  a  corollary  of  this  postulate  that  the  phenomena  which 
Moses  and  his  followers  attributed  to  divine  agency  actually 
occurred,  substantially  as  they  are  related  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

This  view  of  the  case  will  be  still  further  confirmed  when 
we  consider  the  specific  character  of  the  phenomena  and 
compare  it  with  cognate  phenomena  which  are  occurring 
every  day  and  which  can  be  experimentally  reproduced. 
In  making  this  comparison  it  must  be  remembered  that 
Moses  was  subject  to  the  same  laws,  and  was  hedged  about 
by  the  same  limitations,  that  control  and  limit  the  psychic 
manifestations  of  to-day.  The  same  law  of  suggestion 
operated  to  cause  his  subjective  mind  to  believe  itself  to 
be  God,  that  causes  that  of  the  modern  psychic  to  believe 

9 


130  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

itself  to  be  the  spirit  of  any  deceased  person  whose  name 
is  suggested.  If  there  could  be  any  possible  doubt  of  the 
truth  of  this  proposition,  it  will  be  set  at  rest  when  we  con¬ 
sider  the  nature  of  the  conversation  detailed  in  the  foregoing 
passages.  God  is  there  represented  as  being  so  deeply 
moved  by  anger  and  jealousy,  when  he  learned  that  the 
children  of  Israel  were  worshipping  other  gods,  that  he 
wanted  to  wipe  them  all  out  of  existence.  “  Let  me 
alone,”  said  he  to  Moses,  “that  my  wrath  may  wax  hot 
against  them,  and  that  I  may  consume  them.”  I  submit 
that  this  is  not  the  language  of  a  God.  But  when  we 
remember  that  the  subjective  mind  is  the  seat  of  the 
emotions,  and  that  it  is  egotistical,  vain,  selfish,  and  jealous 
to  the  last  degree  when  uncontrolled  by  objective  reason, 
we  have  no  difficulty  in  tracing  the  expression  to  the  sub¬ 
jective  mind  of  Moses  himself.  This  view  is  still  further 
confirmed  by  the  attitude  of  objective  Moses.  His  reason 
told  him  that  it  would  be  highly  injudicious,  to  say  the 
least,  to  utterly  consume  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  ac¬ 
cordingly  he  proceeded  to  argue  the  question  with  God 
and  advise  him  against  such  heroic  measures.  So  cogent 
were  his  arguments,  or,  to  speak  in  modern  scientific 
phrase,  so  potent  were  his  suggestions,  that  God  is  repre¬ 
sented  to  have  “  repented  of  the  evil  which  he  thought  to 
do  unto  his  people.” 

It  needs  no  argument  to  convince  the  intelligent  reader 
of  the  absurdity  involved  in  the  supposition  that  finite 
Moses  was  able  by  argument  to  convict  of  wrong-doing  a 
God  of  infinite  intelligence,  mercy,  wisdom,  goodness,  and 
power,  and  cause  him  to  repent  of  his  evil  intentions.  It 
is  self-evident  that  the  only  rational  explanation  is  that 
given  by  Maimonides,  who  flourished  in  the  twelfth  cen¬ 
tury,  and  was  doubtless  the  greatest  Jewish  philosopher  the 
world  has  ever  seen ;  namely,  “  It  was  objective  Moses 
talking  with  subjective  Moses.” 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  1 3 1 

This  is  certainly  the  only  explanation  that  will  harmonize 
all  the  alleged  facts  and  give  coherency  and  consistency  to 
the  Old  Testament  accounts  of  the  intercourse  of  God  with 
man  during  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  The  same  hypothesis 
applies  with  equal  force  to  the  intercourse  of  God  with  the 
prophets  and  seers,  from  the  days  of  Abraham  to  the  advent 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

Studied  from  this  point  of  view,  the  facts  related  will  be 
found  to  be  illustrative  of  the  principles  and  laws  which 
modern  scientific  research  has  brought  to  light.  As  I  have 
before  remarked,  the  Old  Testament  is  a  record  of  most 
remarkable  psychic  experiences,  —  a  vast  storehouse  cf 
misinterpreted  and  wrongly  classified  psychic  facts.  But, 
as  I  shall  attempt  to  show  in  the  ensuing  chapters,  they  are 
facts  which,  properly  classified  and  intelligently  appreciated, 
are  of  the  most  transcendent  interest  and  importance  to 
mankind. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


ANCIENT  PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA  {continued}. 


The  Prophets  of  Israel.  —  Elisha’s  Methods.  —  He  saves  the  Three 
Kings.  —  Human  Characteristics  of  Elisha’s  God. — The  Evo¬ 
lution  of  the  Monotheistic  Idea  through  Psychic  Phenomena.  — 
The  First  Conception  of  the  Idea  of  a  Living  God.  —  The  Evo¬ 
lution  of  the  Spiritual  Man.  —  The  First  Great  Step  through 
Psychic  Phenomena.  —  The  Jewish  Origin  of  Monotheism  —  The 
God  of  Abraham. — The  Dispensation  of  Moses.  —  The  Second 
Great  Step  in  the  Evolution  of  the  Spiritual  Man.  —  The  Deca¬ 
logue.  —  The  Influence  of  Egyptian  Civilization.  —  The  Wisdom 
of  Moses.  —  Egyptian  Ethics  and  the  Jewish  Religion. — The 
Progress  of  the  Prophets  reflected  in  their  Conception  of  the 
Character  of  God.  —  Isaiah’s  God  no  longer  the  God  of  Israel 
alone. 

LTAVING  now  briefly  adverted  to  a  series  of  psychic 
*  *  phenomena  recorded  in  the  Pentateuch,  it  remains  to 
note  the  continuation  of  the  same  through  the  prophets  who 
succeeded  Moses.  It  is  undeniable  that  the  phenomena 
exhibited  by  the  prophets  were  the  same  as  those  of  Moses 
in  all  essential  particulars.  They  were  dominated  by  the 
same  beliefs,  or  suggestions,  and  ‘the  resultant  manifes¬ 
tations  necessarily  corresponded,  modified  only  by  their 
different  environment  and  the  natural  development  and 
progress  of  the  human  mind.  That  the  prophets  were 
psychics,  is  undeniable.  Even  the  methods  sometimes  em¬ 
ployed  by  them  in  entering  the  psychical  condition  were 
identical  with  those  often  required  by  the  modern  psychic 
when  preparing  for  some  signal  demonstration. 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  133 

A  striking  illustration  of  this  fact  is  found  in  the  stance 
which  the  kings  of  Israel,  Judah,  and  Edom  had  with  the 
prophet  Elisha.  The  King  of  Moab,  who  had  formerly 
been  tributary  to  the  King  of  Israel,  had  rebelled.  The 
latter  had  formed  an  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  with 
the  Kings  of  Judah  and  Edom  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
the  King  of  Moab  to  terms.  On  their  march  through  the 
wilderness  of  Edom  towards  the  land  of  the  Moabites,  they 
found  themselves  in  a  region  that  was  devoid  of  water 
wherewith  to  water  their  stock.  In  this  condition  it  became 
evident  to  them  that  they  would  soon  fall  an  easy  prey  to 
the  King  of  Moab.  In  this  strait  “  the  King  of  Israel  said, 
Alas !  that  the  Lord  hath  called  these  three  kings  together, 
to  deliver  them  into  the  hand  of  Moab.” 

“  But  Jehoshaphat  said,  Is  there  not  here  a  prophet  of  the 
Lord,  that  we  may  inquire  of  the  Lord  by  him?  And  one 
of  the  king  of  Israel’s  servants  answered  and  said,  Here  is 
Elisha,  the  son  of  Shaphat,  which  poured  water  on  the 
hands  of  Elijah.”1 

Accordingly  the  three  kings  sought  out  Elisha,  who,  after 
making  some  disparaging  remarks  concerning  the  King 
of  Israel,  consented  to  do  as  requested  for  the  sake  of 
Jehoshaphat,  the  King  of  Judah. 

“  But  now,”  continued  the  prophet,  “  bring  me  a  min¬ 
strel.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  minstrel  played,  that 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him. 

“  And  he  said,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Make  this  valley  full 
of  ditches.”  2 

The  point  to  be  noted  in  the  foregoing  is  that,  on  this 
great  occasion,  when  the  fate  of  three  kingdoms  trembled 
in  the  balance,  Elisha  deemed  it  essential  that  he  should 
have  the  aid  of  music  to  enable  him  to  enter  the  subjective 
state  and  successfully  invoke  the  name  of  the  Lord.  It  is 
needless  to  remark  that  it  was  precisely  the  condition  often 

1  2  Kings  iii.  10,  n.  a  Op.  cit.,  v.  15,  16. 


134 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


required  by  the  modern  psychic  to  enable  him  to  enter  into 
communication  with  spirits  of  the  dead  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  their  advice  in  cases  of  emergency. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  the  “  control  ”  of  Elisha 
recommended  a  very  common-sense  plan  for  obtaining 
water,  namely,  digging  for  it,  since  the  “  probabilities  ” 
did  not  promise  rain  in  time  to  relieve  the  distress  of  the 
three  armies. 

What  follows  is  illustrative  of  the  essentially  human  and 
emotional  character  of  Elisha’s  God,  — 

“  And  this  [finding  water]  is  but  a  little  thing  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord ;  he  will  deliver  the  Moabites  also  into 
your  hand. 

“  And  ye  shall  smite  every  fenced  city,  and  every  choice 
city,  and  shall  fell  every  good  tree,  and  stop  all  wells  of 
water,  and  mar  every  good  piece  of  land  with  stones.”  1 

And  it  was  so. 

Now,  the  prophets  of  Israel  were  undoubtedly  the  best 
men  of  that  race.  They  it  was  who  constantly  enforced  the 
monotheistic  idea,  and  thus  saved  Israel  from  lapsing  into 
idolatry.  The  hereditary  priesthood  represented  the  reli¬ 
gion  of  the  time  in  its  external  forms  and  ordinances.  They 
were  the  guardians  of  its  organization  and  its  ritual.  The 
predilection  which  the  people  evinced  for  ritual  and  cere¬ 
monial  worship  often  betrayed  them  into  acts  of  idolatry ; 
that  is  to  say,  into  the  worship  of  other  gods  besides 
Jehovah.  It  was  the  prophets  alone  who  constantly  resisted 
this  tendency  towards  polytheism  on  the  part  of  the  priest¬ 
hood  and  the  people.  This  conflict  was  carried  on  in  a 
more  or  less  pronounced  form  from  the  time  of  Moses  to 
the  time  of  Jesus;  and  to  the  successful  resistance  of  the 
prophets  to  the  insidious  inroads  of  polytheism  into  the 
religion  of  the  Jewish  nation,  is  due  the  final  triumph  of 
Christianity. 


1  Op.  cit.,  v.  18,  iq. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


135 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  it  is  to  psychic  phenomena  that 
the  world  owes  its  first  conception  of  a  living  God.  The 
fact  that  the  phenomena  were  grossly  misinterpreted  does 
not  militate  against  the  truth  of  this  proposition.  Its  very 
nature  was  necessarily  conducive  to  monotheism.  Originating 
in  the  subjective  mind  of  the  psychic,  it  was  inevitable  that 
it  should  develop  the  emotional  characteristics  peculiar  to 
the  subjective  mind.1  One  of  the  most  pronounced  of 
these  characteristics,  when  it  is  not  under  the  intelligent 
control  of  the  objective  mind,  is  that  of  monumental 
egotism.  This  emotion  is  developed  in  a  more  or  less 
pronounced  form  in  every  phenomenal  manifestation  of 
subjective  activity.  The  inevitable  result  was  that,  when 
once  the  idea  was  suggested  that  the  source  of  the  com¬ 
munications  which  were  received  by  the  psychics  of  the 
Mosaic  Age  was  none  other  than  the  Deity  himself,  the 
character  of  the  communications  corresponded  exactly  to 
the  psychic’s  conception  of  the  character  of  God.  That  the 
first  assumption  should  be  that  it  was  the  greatest  and  most 
powerful  of  all  the  gods,  was  inevitable,  especially  when  the 
psychic  was  imbued  with  the  idea  of  a  plurality  of  gods. 
The  Jews,  in  common  with  all  surrounding  nations  and 
peoples,  were  imbued  with  that  idea.  Idolatry  and  poly¬ 
theism  were  everywhere  dominant.  The  gods  of  other 
nations,  however,  were  purely  objective  conceptions,  and 
were  represented  by  material  objects  of  worship. 

The  God  of  the  Jews,  on  the  other  hand,  was  evolved 
from  the  subjective  intelligence  of  the  seer  by  means  of 
psychic  manifestations.  Just  how  the  suggestion  originated 
that  the  intelligence  manifested  in  the  phenomena  was  from 
God,  must  forever  remain  in  obscurity ;  nor  is  the  question 
of  any  great  importance.  That  it  originated  with  the  Jews 
at  a  very  early  period  of  their  national  existence,  is  sufficiently 

1  For  a  full  discussion  of  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  the  sub¬ 
jective  mind,  see  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena.” 


136  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

evident.  That  the  great  characters  of  early  Jewish  history 
actually  existed,  and  that  the  story  of  their  lives  as  related 
in  the  Old  Testament  is  substantially  correct,  may,  provision¬ 
ally  at  least,  be  taken  for  granted.  The  important  matter  to 
be  considered  is  not  the  physical  history  of  the  Jewish 
tribes,  but  the  history  of  the  evolution  of  the  monotheistic 
idea.  In  the  latter,  however,  we  may  find  internal  evidence 
of  the  substantial  verity  of  the  former.  Certain  it  is  that  in 
the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac  and  of  Jacob  we  find  the 
first  crude  conception  of  the  idea  of  a  living  God,  —  an  idea 
which  gradually  grew  in  definiteness  and  magnitude  until  it 
was  perfected  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

The  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  was  the  God  of 
the  Israelitish  nation.  The  right  of  other  gods  to  rule  the 
other  nations  was  not  at  first  seriously  disputed.  It  is  true 
that  the  proprietorship  of  the  whole  earth  was  early 
asserted ;  but  the  whole  attention  of  the  Jewish  God  was 
occupied  in  providing  for  the  wants  and  promoting  the 
welfare  of  his  chosen  people. 

This,  then ,  was  the  first  great  step  in  the  evolution  of  the 
spiritual  man. 

The  point  to  be  observed  in  this  connection,  and  which 
must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind,  is  that  this  step  in  the 
evolution  of  the  spiritual  man  was  brought  about  by  means 
of  psychic  phenomena,  —  the  phenomena  of  the  soul.  In 
the  very  nature  of  things  it  could  be  brought  about  in  no 
other  way.  It  is  an  axiom  of  the  Christian  Church  that 
spiritual  truth  can  only  be  apprehended  through  spiritual 
faculties.  This  is  true  in  the  sense  that  it  is  only  by  an 
observation  of  spiritual  phenomena  that  a  knowledge  of 
spiritual  truth  can  be  obtained.  It  is  obviously  not  true  in 
the  sense  in  which  it  is  generally  understood,  —  namely,  that 
spiritual  truth  must  always  be  perceived  by  the  intuitional 
faculties  of  the  soul ;  for  the  spiritual  intuitions  or  percep¬ 
tions  of  no  two  human  beings  were  ever  exactly  alike,  and 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


137 


they  often  differ  as  widely  as  the  poles.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  where  the  spiritual  perceptions  of  two  or 
more  persons  do  not  arrive  at  the  same  result,  one  or  more 
of  them  has  failed  to  perceive  the  truth.  It  follows  that  no 
intuition  of  the  ordinary  human  mind  can  be  relied  upon  as 
a  guide  to  spiritual  truth  unless  the  intuitions  of  the  great 
bulk  of  intelligent  beings  point  to  the  same  conclusion. 
History  furnishes  but  a  single  instance  of  a  man  so  ex¬ 
ceptionally  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  spiritual  or  intui¬ 
tional  perception  of  spiritual  truth  that  his  teachings  serve 
as  a  safe  guide,  not  only  to  his  own  era  and  people,  but  to 
all  mankind  for  all  time. 

Nevertheless,  the  intuitions  of  others  cannot  safely  be 
ignored,  for  they  often  constitute  important  factors  in  par¬ 
ticular  cases,  and  frequently  lead  to  a  partial  knowledge  of 
great  truths.  Thus  it  is  highly  probable  that  intuition  may 
have  played  an  important  part  in  the  minds  of  the  early 
prophets.  It  may  have  been  an  intuitional  thought  that 
led  them  to  identify  the  intelligence  manifested  through 
psychic  conditions  with  the  living  God.  If  so,  it  was  a 
spiritual  perception  of  a  partial  truth  ;  for  the  soul  of  man 
is  demonstrably  a  spark  of  the  divine  intelligence.  More¬ 
over,  it  is  the  divine  instrumentality  through  which  God 
manifests  his  will,  and  by  which  alone  can  his  existence 
be  demonstrated. 

The  next  great  step  in  the  evolution  of  spiritual  man  was 
taken  under  the  dispensation  of  Moses.  He  inherited  the 
controlling  ideas  of  his  forefathers,  and  was  consequently 
dominated  by  the  suggestions  embraced  in  the  traditions 
of  his  race.  Hence  the  God  of  Moses  was  the  same  an- 
thropopathical  deity  that  was  worshipped  by  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob.  Nevertheless,  a  distinct  and  clearly  de¬ 
fined  step  in  advance  was  taken  under  the  Mosaic  dispensa¬ 
tion.  The  code  of  ethics  laid  down  in  the  Decalogue, 
rudimentary  as  it  was,  compared  with  the  high  standard  of 


138  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

a  later  civilization,  was  a  vast  improvement  on  that  of  pre- 
Mosaic  times.  That  this  was  largely  due  to  the  Egyptian 
education  of  Moses,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

“If  it  be  a  fact,  as  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  that  Moses 
was  skilled  in  all  the  wisdom,  esoteric  and  exoteric,  of  the 
Egyptians,  there  can  be  no  difficulty  in  conjecturing  the  source 
from  which  he  derived  the  code  of  rudimentary  ethics  which 
is  laid  down  in  the  Decalogue.  The  scrolls  and  inscriptions 
which,  in  recent  times,  have  been  brought  to  light  and  de¬ 
ciphered,  have  demonstrated  that  long  before  the  time  of  Moses 
the  moral  standard,  theoretically  at  least,  was  very  high  in 
Egypt,  as  high  indeed  as  that  of  the  Decalogue.  The  great 
distinction  of  the  Israelites  —  a  very  great  one  —  was  that  their 
morality,  even  if  it  dated  from  their  residence  in  Egypt,  had 
the  effect  of  soon  refining  and  exalting  their  religious  ideas, 
as  was  never  the  case  in  Egypt  itself,  where,  curiously  and  in¬ 
explicably  enough,  a  debased  form  of  popular  religion  retained 
its  place  side  by  side  with  a  high  development,  in  some  quarters 
or  classes,  of  the  moral  sentiment.”  1 

This  “  inexplicable  ”  difference  in  the  reciprocal  effect 
of  religion  and  morality  in  the  two  nations  is  easily  ac¬ 
counted  for  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  difference 
in  the  two  religions.  A  refined  code  of  ethics  and  morality 
has  no  necessary  effect  upon  an  idolatrous  form  of  worship  ; 
that  is  to  say,  they  have  no,  or  comparatively  limited,  re¬ 
ciprocal  relations.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  neces¬ 
sary  and  vital  relation  between  the  morality  and  the  religion 
of  the  Jews.  The  God  of  the  Israelites,  as  I  have  pointed 
out,  resided  in  their  seers  and  prophets.  Their  God  could 
be  communicated  with,  consulted  and  questioned ;  and  the 
responses  were  the  reflections  of  the  mind  of  the  one  who 
consulted  him.  In  other  words,  the  God  of  the  Israelites 
was  just  what  they  made  him.  If  the  prophet  was  domi¬ 
nated  by  a  vicious  code  of  morals,  the  responses  from  his 
God  would  be  correspondingly  vicious.  If  he  was  actuated 

1  The  Natural  History  of  the  Christian  Religion,  by  William  Mack¬ 
intosh,  M.  A.,  D.  D. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  139 

by  lofty  sentiments  and  a  pure  morality,  the  responses  from 
his  God  would  be  correspondingly  elevated. 

Hence  it  was  that  the  religion  of  the  Jews  under  the 
Mosaic  dispensation  was  comparatively  refined  and  elevated. 
Moses  was  their  prophet  and  their  seer,  as  well  as  their 
temporal  leader;  and,  as  Mackintosh  remarks, — 

“The  great  fame  and  reputation  of  the  Hebrew  legislator  is 
sufficiently  justified  by  the  fact  that  he  so  clearly  discerned  the 
importance  of  ethical  and  religious  principles  as  a  means  of 
giving  stability  to  social  organization  ;  that  he  took  the  highest 
results  of  the  most  ancient  civilization  which  the  world  has 
seen,  and  laid  them  at  the  foundation  of  his  nascent  state ;  that 
he  snatched  the  torch  of  human  progress  from  hands  that  could 
bear  it  no  further,  and  passed  it  on  to  those  of  a  fresh  and 
youthful  race,  —  of  a  race  which  he  may  have  freshened  and 
rejuvenated  by  this  very  stroke  of  high  policy.”  1 

It  seems  probable,  however,  that  the  results  were  due, 
perhaps,  less  to  high  policy  on  the  part  of  the  great  law¬ 
giver  than  to  the  fortuitous  commingling  of  the  high  code 
of  ethics,  which  was  a  part  of  his  Egyptian  education,  with 
the  peculiar  religion  of  his  fathers.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the 
fact  remains  that  the  religion  of  the  Jews,  as  it  was  in  the 
beginning,  —  as  it  was  when  the  first  psychic  seer  conceived 
himself  to  be  in  communication  with  the  Deity,  —  contained 
the  germs  of  an  infinite  development ;  for  every  advance¬ 
ment  in  civilization,  every  step  toward  a  higher  grade  of 
ethics,  every  new  conception  of  a  nobler  code  of  morals, 
had  a  positive,  direct,  and  necessarily  corresponding  effect 
upon  those  psychic  manifestations  which  they  believed  to 
be  communications  proceeding  directly  from  the  living 
God.  In  scientific  phrase,  the  suggestions  embraced  in 
their  moral  code  were  reflected  and  reproduced  in  their 
psychic  manifestations,  precisely  as  the  so-called  spirit 
communications  of  to-day  are  reproductions  of  the  medium’s 


1  Op.  cit.,  p.  92. 


140 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


conception  of  the  character  of  the  spirit  who  is  supposed 
to  be  present. 

The  religion  of  the  Jews  was,  therefore,  necessarily  ele¬ 
vated  and  refined  just  in  accordance  with  the  moral  status 
of  their  prophets.  But  their  prophets  were  human.  They 
were  subject  to  all  the  weaknesses  and  frailties  of  common 
humanity.  They  were  restricted  in  their  progress  by  the 
limitations  of  their  environment ;  and  civilization  was  yet 
in  its  infancy.  Progress  with  them  was,  therefore,  neces¬ 
sarily  slow  and  fitful,  and  was  often  retarded  by  those  reac¬ 
tionary  forces  which  are  always  present  in  every  inchoate 
nation. 

It  was  many  generations  after  the  death  of  Moses  before 
any  substantial  progress  was  made  in  the  religious  evolution 
of  the  Jewish  people.  Their  prophets,  however,  continued 
to  exist,  and  their  influence  gradually  extended.  The 
source  of  their  inspiration  was  always  the  same ;  for  the 
same  suggestions  were  transmitted  from  generation  to  gen¬ 
eration.  Each  prophet  believed  himself  to  be  in  communi¬ 
cation  with  the  only  living  and  true  God.  The  separation 
of  the  tribes  after  the  death  of  Moses  did  not  change  the 
dominant  idea.  Each  prophet  of  all  the  tribes  believed 
himself  to  be  in  communication  with  the  only  true  God. 
Each  tribe  regarded  with  contempt  the  gods  of  the  other 
tribes,  as  was  natural.  Nevertheless  the  monotheistic  idea 
was  dominant  with  all  the  prophets.  It  could  not  be  other¬ 
wise  ;  for  the  inherited  suggestion  was  constantly  before 
each  of  them  that  when  he  entered  the  psychic  state  it  was 
because  “  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him ;  ”  and  his 
utterances  when  in  that  state  were  necessarily  in  keeping 
with  the  dominant  suggestion  that  he  was  giving  voice  to 
the  very  words  of  the  living  God.  Hence  the  authoritative 
prefix  to  all  their  announcements  —  “  Thus  saith  the  Lord  ” 
—  was  uttered  in  the  solemn  tones  of  sincerest  conviction. 

That  they  were  earnest  and  sincere  in  their  convictions. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  141 

cannot  be  doubted.  Their  enthusiasm,  which  oftentimes 
developed  into  fanaticism,  could  be  the  result  of  nothing 
less  than  absolute  conviction,  not  only  of  the  truth  of  their 
utterances,  but  of  their  divine  origin  and  authority.  They 
could  not  believe  otherwise ;  for  they  were  constantly  ex¬ 
periencing  phenomena  which  forced  that  conviction  upon 
them.  They  found  themselves  habitually  entering  a  state 
that  was  to  them  mysterious  and  abnormal,  and  yet  agree¬ 
able.  In  that  state  they  entered  into  communion  with  what 
appeared  to  them  to  be  an  extraneous  intelligence.  That 
intelligence  sometimes  put  words  into  their  mouths  that 
were  foreign  to  their  objective  thoughts.  In  short,  they 
experienced  the  same  phenomena  that  modern  psychics 
attribute  to  disembodied  spirits,  differing  only  in  the  sug¬ 
gestions  which  gave  character  to  the  manifestations.  To 
them  the  evidences  of  divine  communion  and  of  their  own 
divine  mission  were  demonstrative.  That  conviction  was 
communicated  to  the  people,  partly  by  their  intense  ear¬ 
nestness,  and  partly  by  their  occasional  exhibitions  of  psychic 
power  in  the  performance  of  what  was  then  regarded  as 
miracles,  as  in  the  cases  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  and  later  by 
Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  monotheistic  idea  was  inhe¬ 
rent  in  the  very  nature  of  the  psychic  phenomena  expe¬ 
rienced  by  the  seers  and  prophets  of  the  Jewish  race.  The 
first  psychic  who,  no  matter  how  the  idea  originated,  con¬ 
ceived  himself  to  be  in  communion  with  God,  fixed  the 
monotheistic  idea  in  his  own  mind  and  in  the  minds  of  his 
successors  for  all  time.  No  power  on  earth  could  uproot 
that  idea  thus  formed,  so  long  as  there  was  a  succession  of 
psychics  to  whom  the  dominating  suggestion  could  be 
transmitted.  Nevertheless  it  was  an  idea  that  possessed 
the  seeds  of  future  development,  in  that  every  step  in  the 
progress  of  a  higher  civilization  correspondingly  elevated 
and  refined  the  popular  conception  of  the  Deity.  We 


142 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


have  already  seen  the  advancement  of  the  idea  under  the 
dispensation  of  Moses.  Its  development  after  his  death 
was  comparatively  slow  up  to  the  advent  of  Jesus.  Never¬ 
theless,  there  was  substantial  progress  before  that  event. 
The  God  of  Abraham  was  the  God  of  a  tribe.  As  the  tribe 
enlarged  to  a  nation,  he  became  a  national  God.  But  it 
was  not  until  the  days  of  Isaiah  that  the  idea  of  God’s 
power  and  dominion  was  so  enlarged  as  to  give  him 
credit  for  benevolent  intentions  towards  the  whole  race  of 
mankind. 

“  And  he  said,  It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldst  be  my 
servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  pre¬ 
served  of  Israel:  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles, 
that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth.”  1 

In  chapter  lx.  of  Isaiah,  there  is  further  vague  mention 
of  the  benevolent  intentions  of  the  God  of  Israel  towards 
the  Gentiles ;  but  it  is  also  evident  that  the  latter  were  of 
secondary  consideration :  — 

“  Yet  it  must  be  confessed,”  says  Mackintosh,  “  that  even  the 
prophetic  hold  of  this  higher  conception  was  wavering  and 
unsteady,  as  is  conspicuously  apparent  in  the  psalter,  where  the 
old  popular,  or  we  may  say  heathenish,  and  prophetic  senti¬ 
ments  follow  each  other  in  baffling  confusion,  in  irreconcilable 
juxtaposition.  Not  a  reader  but  is  surprised,  if  not  pained,  to 
see  the  breath  of  vengeance  and  the  breath  of  mercy  blow  by 
turns  through  those  wonderful  compositions,  which  were  proba¬ 
bly  among  the  last,  and  were,  in  some  respects,  the  greatest 
products  of  the  prophetic  spirit.” 

The  most  substantial  progress  of  the  monotheistic  idea 
during  the  interval  between  the  death  of  Moses  and  the 
advent  of  Christ,  consisted  not  so  much  in  the  enlarge¬ 
ment  of  the  idea  itself  as  in  its  general  acceptance  by  the 
Jewish  people.  This  was  brought  about  by  their  misfor¬ 
tunes,  together  with  the  earnest  efforts  made  by  their 


1  Isaiah  xlix.  6. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


143 


prophets  to  convince  them  that  it  was  to  their  wickedness, 
evinced  in  following  after  false  gods,  that  their  troubles 
were  due.  With  the  details  of  their  history,  however,  we 
have  little  to  do.  It  suffices  to  know  that  the  monotheistic 
principle  was  developed  by  and  through  the  Jewish  people 
by  means  of  psychic  phenomena.  As  I  have  before  re¬ 
marked,  the  fact  that  it  was  misunderstood  at  the  time 
does  not  militate  against  the  broad  truth  of  the  proposition. 
All  the  phenomena  of  Nature  were  misinterpreted  in  the 
infancy  of  the  human  race ;  but  the  laws  of  Nature  were 
the  same  then  as  they  are  now.  The  advantage  that  we 
possess  consists  in  the  fact  that  we  know  a  little  more  than 
did  the  ancients  of  the  laws  which  pertain  to  the  phe¬ 
nomena  of  Nature.  They  thought  that  the  earth  was  flat, 
and  that  it  was  the  centre  of  the  universe.  We  know  that 
it  is  round,  and  that  it  constitutes  but  an  infinitesimal  part 
of  the  universe.  We  also  know  that  it  was  round  when 
they  lived,  and  that  it  will  continue  to  be  round  as  long  as 
it  holds  together.  In  other  words,  with  our  knowledge  of 
astronomical  laws  we  can  reconstruct  the  past  and  foretell 
the  future  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  We  also 
know  something  of  the  laws  of  the  soul.  It  is  little,  it  is 
true,  compared  with  what  is  known  of  the  physical  sciences ; 
for  the  fact  is  just  fairly  beginning  to  dawn  upon  the  human 
mind  that  the  soul  can  be  studied  scientifically.  But 
enough  is  known  of  the  phenomena  of  the  soul  to  enable 
us  to  classify  a  few  of  the  leading  facts  and  understand 
something  of  their  significance.  The  phenomena  which 
we  have  been  discussing  have  a  well-settled  place  in  psychic 
science,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  excuse  for  misinter¬ 
preting  them. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  JESUS. 


The  Third  Great  Step  in  the  Evolution  of  the  Spiritual  Man.  —  The 
God  which  Jesus  Proclaimed.  —  Intellectual  Prodigies.  —  The 
Intuitional  Powers  of  Jesus. —  His  Psychical  Powers. —  His  Per¬ 
fect  Knowledge  of  the  Laws  of  the  Soul.  —  Modem  Confirma¬ 
tions  of  the  Truth  of  his  Philosophy.  —  The  Psychic  Methods  of 
Jesus.  —  His  Reason  always  in  the  Ascendant.  —  His  Perfect 
Moral  and  Religious  Character.  —  Psychic  Phenomena  the  Evi¬ 
dence  of  his  Divine  Mission.  —  Paley’s  Views.  —  The  Divine 
Heritage.  —  The  Vitality  of  the  Christian  Religion. 

'T'HE  third  great  epoch  in  the  evolution  of  the  spiritual 
•*  man  was  inaugurated  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  In  dis¬ 
cussing  this  branch  of  the  subject,  I  shall  not  enter  the  field 
of  controversial  argument  respecting  his  alleged  miraculous 
birth  or  his  resurrection  from  the  dead.  I  leave  that  to  the 
theologian  who  regards  those  questions  as  possessing  vital 
importance  from  his  point  of  view.  From  my  standpoint 
they  cannot  be  considered.  Miracles  can  have  no  place  in 
science  ;  for  they  can  neither  be  scientifically  verified  nor 
experimentally  reproduced.  I  have  thus  far  confined  my 
observations  to  the  records  of  such  psychic  phenomena  as 
can  be  verified  by  experimental  reproduction ;  and  I  shall 
continue  to  do  so  wherever  the  nature  of  the  phenomena 
will  admit  of  such  demonstration.  In  the  history  of  Jesus, 
however,  there  is  much  that  cannot  be  specifically  verified 
by  experiment.  His  character  and  inherent  attributes 
cannot  be  reproduced.  We  are  not,  however,  without  means 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LI  IE.  145 

of  scientifically  verifying  his  history  in  that  regard,  as  will 
be  seen  later  in  this  work. 

The  phenomena  which  we  are  now  called  upon  to  consider 
differ  in  many  essential  particulars  from  those  recorded  in 
the  Old  Testament.  The  older  prophets,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  psychics  who  believed  that  they  had  the  power 
to  enter  at  will  into  tangible  communion  with  God,  and  to 
receive  from  Him  direct  verbal  communications.  These 
phenomena,  as  I  have  pointed  out,  were  identical  with  the 
phenomena  of  modern  spiritism,  differing  only  in  the  sugges¬ 
tion  which  gave  character  to  the  supposed  communications. 
The  God  of  the  old  prophets  was,  therefore,  necessarily  a 
reflection  of  their  own  personal  characteristics.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  God  whom  Jesus  revealed  to  mankind  was 
a  conception  so  grand  and  lofty,  as  compared  with  that  of 
the  old  prophets,  that  credulity  has,  in  all  the  ages,  been 
taxed  in  vain  to  identify  the  God  of  Abraham  with  the  God  j 
of  Jesus.  This  fact  has  been  a  stumbling-block  to  the  sceptic  j 
or  heretic  for  eighteen  hundred  years ;  whereas,  when  the 
facts  are  understood,  they  will  be  found  to  present  the  strong¬ 
est  possible  internal  evidence  of  the  substantial  truth  of  the 
essential  portions  of  the  historical  part  of  both  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testaments.  Viewed  as  a  series  of  psychic  mani¬ 
festations,  the  gradual  improvement  in  the  God  of  Israel 
corresponds  exactly  with  the  natural  progress  of  that  race 
towards  civilization,  and  the  consequent  evolution  of  the 
human  mind  and  soul.  That  there  was  a  sudden  step  in 
advance,  of  infinite  magnitude  and  importance,  does  not 
militate  against  the  theory  of  the  evolution  of  the  spiritual 
man  through  psychic  phenomena.  On  the  contrary,  it  will 
be  found  to  confirm  and  emphasize  that  hypothesis.  The 
great  step  in  advance  which  Jesus  made  was  the  result, 
not  of  a  cessation  of  psychic  manifestations,  but  of  a  radical 
change  in  their  character.  The  conception  of  God  which 
he  evolved  was  not  the  result  of  verbal  communications  from 


10 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


146 

God,  after  the  manner  of  the  prophets,  but  was  the  result 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  intuitive 
perception  of  the  laws  of  the  human  soul. 

In  order  to  understand  fully  the  position  which  Jesus  occu¬ 
pied  in  the  psycho-religious  world,  it  will  be  necessary  briefly 
to  discuss  the  above  proposition.  In  “The  Law  of  Pyschic 
Phenomena  ”  I  have  discussed  it  at  some  length,  and  space 
can  be  given  here  for  but  a  brief  outline. 

History  shows  that  from  time  to  time  there  have  been 
born  into  this  world  persons  so  exceptionally  endowed  by 
nature  with  intellectual  powers  in  certain  directions  that 
they  can  be  appropriately  designated  by  no  other  term 
than  that  of  “  prodigies.1’  The  phenomenal  manifestations 
of  these  prodigies,  however,  are  usually  confined  to  some 
one  sphere  of  mental  activity.  Thus,  there  are  musical 
prodigies,  prodigies  in  art,  in  poetry,  in  mathematics,  etc., 
but  seldom  has  one  of  them  been  known  to  be  exception¬ 
ally  endowed  in  more  than  one  direction.  The  -salient 
characteristic  which  is  common  to  all  is  that  each  one  ap¬ 
pears  to  be  endowed  with  an  intuitive  perception  of  the  laws 
of  nature  which  pertain  to  his  specialty.  Thus,  the  musical 
prodigy  intuitively  perceives  the  laws  pertaining  to  the  har¬ 
mony  of  sounds ;  the  artistic  prodigy  intuitively  perceives 
the  laws  of  harmony  of  colors ;  the  mathematical  prodigy 
perceives  by  intuition  the  laws  of  numbers.  This  faculty 
when  once  developed  absolutely  transcends  reason  or 
objective  education.  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  has 
any  part  or  lot  in  the  production  of  the  phenomenal  results. 
Fortunately  we  have  the  means  of  verifying  this  proposition. 
Thus,  one  of  the  most  phenomenal  musical  prodigies  the 
world  has  ever  known  was  both  blind  and  idiotic  from  birth.1 
Obviously,  therefore,  neither  objective  reason  nor  objective 
education  could  have  played  any  part  in  his  musical  devel¬ 
opment.  Yet  he  was  able  when  a  mere  child  to  improvise 


1  Blind  Tom. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


147 


excellent  harmonies,  and  to  reproduce  a  piece  of  music, 
once  heard,  with  remarkable  accuracy.  Thus  the  proposi¬ 
tion  is  scientifically  verified  that  he  had  the  power  of  per¬ 
ception  of  the  laws  of  nature  which  governed  his  specialty ; 
for  there  is  no  other  way  of  accounting  for  the  phenomena. 

Again,  the  mathematical  prodigy,  Zerah  Colburn,  men¬ 
tioned  at  length  in  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,” 1  be¬ 
fore  he  was  objectively  able  to  understand  the  powers  of  the 
nine  digits  could  instantaneously  solve  intricate  arithmetical 
problems.  He  was  investigated  and  scientifically  tested  by 
the  ablest  scientists  of  Europe,  who  bear  testimony  to  his 
prodigious  powers.  His  answers  were  given  so  promptly 
that  calculation  was  out  of  the  question,  even  if  he  had  been 
educated  in  the  rules  of  arithmetic,  which  was  not  the  case. 
Again  we  have  a  scientific  verification  of  the  facts  related  of 
him,  and  of  the  proposition  that  his  powers  were  the  result  of 
intuition,  in  this,  that  (1)  he  developed  his  powers  before 
he  had  studied  arithmetic;  (2)  his  answers  were  instanta¬ 
neously  given  ;  (3)  his  answers  were  always  correct.  The 
last  was,  of  course,  the  supreme  test,  for  the  reason  that 
if  they  had  not  been  correct  they  would  not  have  been 
remarkable. 

Many  other  mathematical  prodigies  might  be  mentioned 
in  this  connection  did  space  permit.  Their  phenomena  are 
no  more  remarkable  than  those  of  prodigies  in  other  sciences ; 
but  they  are  more  valuable  for  purposes  of  generalization 
than  any  others,  for  the  reason  that  they  carry  with  them 
their  own  verification.  Their  answers,  being  accurate, 
demonstrate  their  powers  of  intuition  ;  and  they  also  demon¬ 
strate  the  general  proposition  that  the  soul  of  man  possesses 
the  inherent  power,  under  certain  psychic  conditions  not 
vet  clearly  understood,  to  perceive  by  intuition  the  laws  of 
Nature. 

This  proposition  conceded,  it  is  easy  to  account  for  the 
1  See  also  “  Memoir  of  Zerah  Colburn.” 


jqs 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


knowledge  which  Jesus  possessed  of  those  laws  of  Nature 
which  pertain  to  the  functions,  powers,  and  destiny  of 
the  human  soul.  He  had  an  intuitive  perception  of 
those  laws,  and  his  knowledge  of  them  was  undoubtedly 
as  accurate  as  if  it  had  been  susceptible  of  mathematical 
verification. 

At  this  point  it  will  be  asked  :  “  What  evidence  have  we 
that  Jesus  was  endowed  with  that  power  of  intuition?” 
This  is  a  most  pertinent  question,  and,  could  it  not  be 
clearly  and  logically  answered,  we  should  be  compelled  at 
this  point  to  abandon  all  scientific  methods  of  inquiry  into 
this  subject.  Fortunately  the  proofs  are  at  hand  which  will 
settle  that  question  beyond  all  possibility  of  reasonable 
doubt. 

In  the  first  place,  it  must  be  remembered  that  Jesus  was 
born  and  reared  among  a  people  who  believed  in  and  wor¬ 
shipped  the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Moses.  Their  ideas  of 
God  were  based  upon  the  purely  anthropomorphic  concep¬ 
tions  of  the  Deity  which  had  dominated  the  race  from 
Abraham  down.  His  education,  therefore,  other  things 
being  equal,  was  calculated  to  inspire  him  with  the  beliefs 
of  his  ancestors.  But  other  things  were  not  equal.  He 
was  exceptionally  endowed,  morally,  as  he  was  intellectually 
and  psychically.  He  was  infinitely  above  his  race  in  every 
attribute  which  contributes  towards  human  perfection.  He 
may  or  he  may  not  have  entered  the  psychic  state  in  order 
to  hold  communion  with  God,  as  did  the  prophets  before 
him.  It  does  not  seem  probable  that  he  so  acted,  for  there 
is  nothing  in  his  history  that  points  to  that  conclusion.  At 
the  age  of  twelve  he  was  able  to  dispute  with  the  doctors  in 
the  Temple  in  his  normal  condition.  But,  even  if  he  had 
entered  the  psychic  condition  for  such  a  purpose,  his  con¬ 
ception  of  God  would  have  been  infinitely  above  that  of 
the  older  prophets,  and  would  still  have  constituted  a 
mighty  step  in  the  evolution  of  spiritual  humanity. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


149 


It  is  to  the  last  degree  improbable,  however,  that  he  ever 
entered  the  psychic  state  with  the  idea  of  receiving  verbal 
communications  from  God.  His  conception  of  God  was 
far  too  lofty  for  him  to  be  led  into  the  errors  of  his  prede¬ 
cessors.  His  intuitive  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  soul 
would  of  necessity  prevent  him  from  placing  himself  in  a 
position  where  he  could  possibly  be  dominated  by  a  false 
suggestion.  The  whole  history  of  his  life  shows  that  he 
never  allowed  his  subjective  mind  to  usurp  the  throne  of 
his  reason.  His  Sermon  on  the  Mount  demonstrates  his 
entire  emancipation  from  the  thraldom  of  precedent,  and 
proclaims,  inferentially,  his  realization  of  the  finite  character 
of  the  God  of  Moses.  By  his  frequent  repetition  of  the 
words,  “  Ye  have  heard  it  said  by  them  of  old  time,”  etc., 
followed  by  his  “  But  I  say  unto  you,"  etc.,  he  placed  in 
violent  contrast  the  God  of  Moses  and  his  own  conception 
of  the  Deity,  and  of  the  duty  of  man  towards  his  Creator 
and  his  fellow- men.  He  could  have  used  no  language  that 
would  have  more  utterly  repudiated  the  Mosaic  conception 
of  the  God  who  gave  to  Israel  the  imperfect  code  of  ethics 
delivered  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai.  That  he  did  not  pro¬ 
claim,  in  so  many  words,  his  knowledge  of  the  human  origin 
of  the  God  “  of  old  time,”  was  doubtless  due  to  that  cau¬ 
tion  which  he  so  often  evinced  in  speaking  to  the  people 
in  parables,  and  which  was  expressly  stated  to  his  disciples 
in  the  following  memorable  and  significant  words  :  I  have 
yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them 
now.”  1 

He  gave  to  the  people  what  they  could  readily  assimilate, 
and  he  always  refrained  from  unnecessarily  antagonizing 
their  ancient  beliefs  and  prejudices. 

One  of  the  strongest  evidences  of  the  intuitive  character 
of  his  knowledge  is  found  in  his  conception  of  the  charac¬ 
ter  and  attributes  of  God.  This,  in  connection  with  the 
1  John  xvi  12. 


150  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

fact  that  he  was  the  first  to  proclaim  a  conception  of  the 
Deity  so  lofty,  so  grand,  and  so  ennobling,  and  at  the  same 
time  in  such  perfect  harmony  with  the  highest  instincts  of 
all  civilized  humanity,  constitutes  a  strong  link  in  the  chain 
of  evidence  to  sustain  that  hypothesis.  Born  of  a  race 
whose  highest  conception  of  a  Deity  was  of  a  being  whose 
passions  and  weaknesses  would  degrade  a  savage,  and  whose 
highest  purpose  it  was  to  protect  a  single  tribe  or  race  in  no 
wise  better  than  their  neighbors,  Jesus  proclaimed  a  God 
of  love,  mercy,  and  benevolence,  and  promulgated  a  code 
of  ethics  for  the  guidance  of  the  human  race,  the  funda¬ 
mental  principles  of  which  were  the  universal  brotherhood 
of  man  and  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  That  his  code  of 
ethics  and  morals,  and  his  conceptions  of  the  attributes  of 
God,  have  never  been  and  never  can  be  improved  upon,  no 
one  will  undertake  to  deny.  That  they  constitute  strong 
evidence,  not  only  that  he  was  endowed  with  an  intuitive 
perception  of  the  laws  pertaining  to  the  subject-matter,  but 
that  his  intuitions  were  correct,  is  evidenced  by  his  undis¬ 
puted  headship  and  by  ample  time-tests. 

The  strongest  evidence,  however,  of  the  fact  that  he  pos¬ 
sessed  the  power  of  intuitive  perception  of  the  laws  of  the 
soul,  consists  in  his  physical  manifestations.  It  is  true  that 
his  miracles  belong  to  a  comparatively  low  order  of  psychic 
phenomena ;  but  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  dis¬ 
play  his  powers  in  some  tangible  form  in  order  to  impress 
his  followers  with  a  sense  of  his  power  and  authority. 
“  Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye  will  not  believe,” 
was  a  statement,  made  to  the  nobleman  of  Capernaum,  of  a 
pregnant  fact.1  It  was  a  recognition  of  an  existing  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  public  mind  with  reference  to  him  and  his  claim 
to  divine  authority.  It  was  a  proclamation  of  his  purpose 

1  The  learned  Nicodemus  (John  iii.  i)  says:  “  We  know  that  thou 
art  a  teacher  come  from  God :  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles  that 
thou  doest  except  God  be  with  him.” 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


151 

to  satisfy  the  public  demand ;  and  his  wisdom  was  never 
more  manifest  than  in  his  compliance  with  the  popular 
desire  to  witness  exhibitions  of  his  power.  For  he  not  only 
gave  to  them  the  only  proofs  of  his  divine  mission  that  they 
could  appreciate,  but  by  the  same  means  he  left  a  record  of 
his  works  which  now  constitutes  the  only  means  we  have  of 
verifying  his  history. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  religion 
that  the  circumstances  and  events  in  the  life  of  Christ  which 
have  been  the  greatest  stumbling-blocks  of  scientific  scep¬ 
ticism  for  eighteen  centuries,  are,  in  this  last  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  found  to  be  the  only  facts  in  his  history 
which  can  be  scientifically  verified.  The  most  potent 
assaults  of  scepticism  have  been  made  upon  the  record  of 
his  physical  manifestations.  Thousands  who  could  have 
accepted  without  serious  question  the  fact  of  his  spiritual 
supremacy,  who  admired  his  code  of  morals  and  reverenced 
his  exalted  character,  have  derisively  rejected  the  story  of 
his  miracles  and  ended  in  total  scepticism.  In  a  scientific 
age  this  was  inevitable.  The  moment  one  begins  to  com¬ 
prehend  the  principles  of  induction,  the  moment  one 
realizes  the  constancy  of  the  forces  of  Nature  and  the  im¬ 
mutability  of  her  laws,  that  moment  the  seeds  of  scepticism 
are  implanted  in  his  mind,  and  miracles  are  relegated,  in 
his  philosophy,  to  the  domain  of  fable  or  of  superstition. 

The  Church,  in  turn,  has  provoked  this  spirit  of  scepticism 
by  constant  iteration  of  the  dogma  that  Christ  wrought  his 
wondrous  works  outside,  and  in  defiance,  of  natural  law. 
Fortunately  for  the  Christian  Church  and  for  humanity,  the 
scientific  investigations  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century  have  revealed  the  fact  that  the  so -cabled  mipcles  of 
Christ  can  be  experimentally  jpj|rodiit:t*d.‘  jj  iy'lo|j<|ver,  the 
laws  which  governed  the  production'' of  ms  phenomena  are 
beginning  to  be  zrtcl  scjnqhbf 

tant  of  them  have  bf^iffdyfistftfel)*;  formulate^, juqd  I 


152 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


incorporated  into  the  great  body  of  modern  science.  Since 
that  has  been  accomplished,  it  is  suddenly  recollected  that 
Jesus  himself  never  claimed  to  perform  his  works  outside 
of  natural  law.  On  the  contrary,  he  not  only  taught  his 
Apostles  how  to  reproduce  his  phenomena,  but  proclaimed 
to  the  world  the  essential  conditions  to  their  reproduction, 
and  declared  in  so  many  words  that  those  who  observed 
those  conditions  should  be  able  to  do  “  even  greater  works  ” 
than  he  had  done.  Modern  science  has  rediscovered  the 
art  of  doing  those  works;  and  it  has  formulated  the  con¬ 
ditions  necessary  to  be  observed.  And  it  is  just  here,  there¬ 
fore,  that  the  most  positive  evidence  of  the  essential  truth 
of  the  history  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  to  be  found.  Consid¬ 
ering  his  physical  manifestations  as  miracles,  science  must 
forever  discredit  his  history.  But  when  it  is  discovered 
that  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  lame  can  be  made  to 
walk,  the  blind  to  see,  and  the  deaf  to  hear,  just  as  he  did 
those  things  in  the  first  century,  science  has  no  more  right 
to  discredit  his  history  than  it  would  have  to  dispute  any 
other  historical  instance  where  the  forces  of  Nature  had 
been  utilized ;  a  fortiori ,  where  there  was  indubitable  evi¬ 
dence  of  their  intelligent  utilization.  This  evidence  we 
have  in  the  history  of  Jesus,  in  that  he  minutely  observed  all 
the  conditions  that  modern  science  has  discovered  to  be  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  successful  reproduction  of  his  phenomena.1 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Christian  religion  forms  no 
exception  to  the  rule  that  all  religions  worthy  of  the  name 
have  their  origin  in  psychic  phenomena. 

Jesus  himself  was  the  most  stupendous  psychic  phenome¬ 
non  the  world  has  ever  seen.  He  was  a  colossal  religious 
genius.  Endowed  with  a  perfect  power  of  perception  of  all 
the  laws  of  the  human  soul,  he  was  enabled  to  formulate, 
and  to  promulgate  to  the  world,  a  series  of  vital  truths  and 

1  For  a  full  discussion  of  these  points,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
“  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena.” 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  1 53 

principles  which  the  most  profound  researches  of  inductive 
science  can  only  verify. 

I  have  elsewhere  defined  “  genius  ”  as  the  result  of  the 
synchronous  action  of  the  objective  and  subjective  faculties.1 
History  records  the  names  and  works  of  many  men  who 
have  merited  this  designation  to  a  certain  extent.  A  few 
have  given  evidence  that,  in  a  purely  intellectual  sense, 
the  synchronism  was  well-nigh  perfect.  Many  have  given 
occasional  exhibitions  of  intellectual  power  which  can  be 
accounted  for  on  no  other  hypothesis.  History,  however, 
furnishes  us  but  one  example  of  a  man  in  whom  the  syn¬ 
chronism  of  development,  physical,  intellectual,  psychical, 
and  moral,  was  absolutely  perfect.  That  man,  it  is  needless 
to  say,  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  That  Jesus  was  a  psychic  of 
most  wonderful  power,  no  one  will  gainsay,  whatever  may 
be  his  theories  regarding  his  miraculous  conception  and 
birth ;  but  he  was,  in  many  essential  particulars,  unlike  any 
other  psychic  of  whom  we  have  any  record. 

The  ordinary  psychic,  in  order  to  produce  his  phenomena, 
is  compelled  to  enter  the  psychical  or  subjective  condition. 
His  objective  faculties  must  be  and  remain  in  at  least  par¬ 
tial  abeyance.  In  this  condition  his  objective  reason  is 
dethroned  and  he  is  dominated  by  the  power  of  suggestion. 
His  phenomena  will,  therefore,  necessarily  take  the  form  of 
whatever  suggestion  is  uppermost  in  his  mind ;  whether  it 
be  an  auto-suggestion  arising  from  his  preconceived  opin¬ 
ions,  as  in  spiritistic  phenomena,  or  a  suggestion  from 
another,  as  in  hypnotism.  In  any  event,  his  objective  reason 
is  in  abeyance,  and  consequently,  if  the  suggestion  is  a  false 
one,  he  is  nevertheless  dominated  by  it,  and  the  resultant 
phenomena  are  necessarily  incongruous  and  misleading.  It 
is  true  that  in  the  phonomena  which  are  the  products  of 
what  is  known  as  “  genius,”  there  often  appears  to  exist  a 
perfect  synchronism  of  objective  and  subjective  activity  and 
1  See  “  The  L:iw  of  Psychic  Phenomena,”  ch.  v. 


154 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


development.  This,  however,  pertains  only  to  purely  intel¬ 
lectual  manifestations  ;  and  it  is  rarely,  if  ever,  constant. 
But  where  this  synchronism  exists  it  has  never  been  known, 
in  modern  times,  to  be  accompanied  by  the  power  to  pro¬ 
duce  other  psychic  phenomena,  especially  physical  manifes¬ 
tations.  The  latter,  as  before  stated,  are  only  produced,  by 
the  ordinary  psychic,  as  a  result  of  his  entering  the  subjec¬ 
tive  state,  in  which  the  objective  faculties  are  held  in  partial 
or  complete  abeyance. 

In  many  of  the  foregoing  particulars  Jesus  constituted  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule.  Not  that  he  was  exempt 
from  the  operation  of  the  universal  law  governing  psychic 
manifestations,  but  that  he  was,  to  a  greater  extent  than  any 
other  psychic,  harmoniously  developed.  In  him  the  objec¬ 
tive  and  subjective  faculties  preserved,  at  all  times  and  under 
all  circumstances,  an  exquisitely  harmonious  balance.  Hav¬ 
ing  an  intuitive  perception  of  psychic  laws,  he  was  fully  aware 
of  the  ill  effects  of  their  misdirected  application.  Knowing 
the  limitations  of  the  powers  of  the  subjective  mind,  its 
amenability  to  control  by  suggestion,  and  its  consequent 
inability  to  take  the  initiatory  step  in  the  process  of  induc¬ 
tion,  he  never  allowed  it  to  obtain  control  of  the  dual  mental 
organization.  Consequently,  his  reason  was  always  in  the 
ascendant ;  and  history  does  not  record  an  instance  where 
he  entered  the  psychic  state  for  any  purpose  whatever. 
Moreover,  he  never  allowed  himself  to  produce  any  phe¬ 
nomena  for  the  mere  purpose  of  displaying  his  powers. 
When  he  consented  to  exercise  the  powers  of  the  soul, 
it  was  always  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  some 
good  object ;  albeit  his  primary  object  may  have  been  to 
convince  the  people  of  his  divine  mission.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  the  fact  remains  that  he  never  exercised  his  psychic 
powers  except  for  the  promotion  of  the  highest  good  of 
those  around  him ;  and  he  never  allowed  himself  to  be 
placed  in  such  a  mental  condition  as  to  render  it  possible 
for  him  to  be  dominated  by  a  false  suggestion. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  155 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  his  wisdom  was  as  strikingly 
displayed  by  what  he  refrained  from  doing  as  it  was  by 
what  he  did.  Indeed,  it  will  eventually  be  found,  as 
knowledge  of  psychic  laws  increases,  that  one  of  the  most 
valuable  lessons  which  Jesus  taught  to  mankind  consisted  in 
his  abstention  from  any  unnecessary  display  of  his  psychic 
powers.  Knowing,  as  he  did,  the  law's  pertaining  to  the 
production  of  psychic  phenomena,  he  carefully  and  con¬ 
sistently  kept  within  the  normal  lines.  The  story  of  his 
three  temptations  in  the  wilderness  was  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  a  symbolical  presentation  of  this  most  important 
principle  by  which  he  was  guided.  Rightly  interpreted, 
the  story  of  the  three  temptations  draws  the  line  of  de¬ 
marcation  clearly  and  distinctly  between  the  legitimate 
and  the  illegitimate  —  the  normal  and  the  abnormal  — 
exercise  of  psychic  power.1 

Formally  stated,  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  the 
psychic  powers  and  attributes  of  Jesus  are  as  follows :  — 

1.  The  first  and  most  important  mental  characteristic 
which  distinguished  him  from  all  other  men  of  whom 
history  has  given  any  account,  consisted  in  his  intuitive 
perception  of  the  laws  which  pertain  to  the  human  soul. 
I  say  that  this  was  his  most  important  mental  endow¬ 
ment,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  the  essential  prerequisite 
to  all  the  others.  It  not  only  enabled  him  to  “speak  as 
never  man  spake,”  that  is,  with  the  authority  of  perfect 
knowledge ;  but  it  enabled  him  to  exercise  the  powers 
of  the  soul  under  the  most  favorable  conditions. 

2.  The  next  in  importance  of  his  distinctive  endow¬ 
ments  was  his  ability  to  exercise  his  psychic  powers  under 
normal  physical  conditions.  No  other  psychic  has  ever 
been  able  to  do  this  except  to  a  very  limited  extent. 
This  ability  arose,  not  because  he  acted  outside  the 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  proposition,  see  “  The  Law  of 
Psychic  Phenomena,”  ch.  xxiv. 


156  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

domain  of  natural  law,  but  from  his  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  law.  Other  psychics  have  sometimes  performed 
purely  intellectual  feats  while  in  an  apparently  normal 
physical  condition.  Some  have,  under  exceptionally  favor¬ 
able  circumstances,  produced  physical  manifestations  under 
apparently  normal  conditions.  But  such  cases  are  sporadic, 
and  only  serve  to  emphasize  the  general  rule  that  psychic 
manifestations  are  the  result  of  abnormal  physical  con¬ 
ditions.  Jesus  was  the  only  one,  of  whom  we  have  any 
authenticated  account,  who  never  found  it  necessary  to 
enter  the  subjective  state  to  enable  him  to  produce  any 
psychic  phenomena. 

3.  As  a  result  of  his  ability  to  exercise  his  psychic 
powers  without  entering  the  subjective  state,  he  was 
enabled  to  avoid  the  operation  of  the  law  of  suggestion, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  he  was  never  dominated  by  a 
false  suggestion.  Objective  reason,  therefore,  was  always 
in  the  ascendant.  Again  it  must  be  remarked  that  this 
does  not  imply  that  he  was  not  subject  to  the  law  of 
suggestion ;  but  that  his  knowledge  of  the  law  enabled 
him  to  avoid  placing  himself  in  that  condition  in  which 
he  would  be  dominated  by  it.  It  is  in  psychic  science 
as  in  any  other.  If  we  know  its  laws  we  can  avoid  its 
evils.  In  other  words,  when  we  are  dealing  with  a  force, 
of  the  laws  of  which  we  have  perfect  knowledge,  we  are 
enabled  to  place  ourselves  in  proper  relations  to  it,  and 
thus  avoid  the  penalties  attending  the  infraction  of  its 
laws. 

4.  One  of  the  most  important  of  the  distinctive  charac¬ 
teristics  of  Jesus,  as  compared  with  other  psychics,  con¬ 
sisted  in  his  perfect  moral  and  religious  character.  This, 
in  a  certain  sense,  may  be  attributed  to  a  perfect  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  laws  of  the  soul ;  although  due  credit  must 
be  given  to  that  innate  altruism  which  was  regnant  in  his. 
character.  Without  attempting.,  however,  to  distinguish 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


157 


between  what  was  the  result  of  a  perfect  comprehension 
of  spiritual  laws  and  what  was  innate  in  his  character,  il 
indeed  there  is  any  line  of  distinction,  it  will  be  sufficient 
for  our  present  purpose  to  discuss  the  former.  As  I  have 
before  remarked,  the  subjective  mind  or  soul  is  the  seat 
of  the  emotions.  Every  emotion,  therefore,  is  a  psychic 
phenomenon.  Religious  worship  is  an  emotion  that  is 
inherent  in  every  human  soul.  It  is  one  of  the  higher 
instincts  which  differentiate  the  man  from  the  brute. 
Morality  is  also  an  emotion  when  considered  as  a  duty 
which  man  owes  to  his  Creator,  although,  when  practised 
solely  with  reference  to  one’s  relations  to  society  and  the 
commonwealth,  it  is  the  result  of  education.  In  its  highest 
sense,  therefore,  morality  is  an  emotion,  cognate  to  religion, 
and,  with  the  latter,  must  be  considered  as  one  of  the 
phenomena  of  the  soul.  Religion  and  morality  being  phe¬ 
nomena  or  attributes  of  the  soul,  they  necessarily  have  nor¬ 
mal  relations  to  every  other  attribute  of  the  soul.  This  being 
granted,  it  follows  that  one  who  possesses  a  perfect  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  laws  of  the  soul  will  be  able  to  discern  those 
normal  relations,  and,  other  things  being  equal,  will  seek  to 
maintain  them.  This,  then,  was  the  distinctive  charac¬ 
teristic  of  Jesus.  He  was  a  master  of  the  science  of  the 
soul,  and  as  such  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  its  attributes 
and  powers,  and  of  the  normal  relations  which  those  attri¬ 
butes  and  powers  sustain  to  each  other,  to  humanity,  and  to 
the  Creator.  A  perfect  moral  and  religious  character  was 
necessarily  the  result. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  as  before  remarked,  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion  forms  no  exception  to  the  general  rule  that 
every  religion  worthy  of  the  name  has  its  origin  in  psychic 
phenomena.  Previous  to  the  time  of  Jesus,  the  phenomena 
were  grossly  misinterpreted.  Nevertheless,  they  contained 
the  germs  of  the  monotheistic  idea,  which  was  perfected  by 
one  who  never  misinterpreted  the  phenomena  of  the  soul. 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


158 

Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  Christian  religion  not  only  had  its 
origin  in  psychic  phenomena,  but  that  was  the  only  means 
by  which  it  was,  or  could  be,  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
mankind.  The  words  of  Jesus  would  have  been  lost,  and 
his  mission  a  failure,  had  he  not  been  endowed  with  the 
power  to  produce  phenomena  tangible  to  the  senses  of  the 
people.  It  was  by  this  means  alone  that  he  was  able  to 
impress  upon  the  world  a  realization  of  this  divine  mission. 
Paley  himself  declares  this  fact  in  these  words  :  — 

“  That  this  particular  person,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  ought  to  be 
received  as  the  Messiah,  or  as  a  messenger  from  God,  they  [the 
Apostles]  neither  had,  nor  could  have,  anything  but  miracles 
to  stand  upon.” 1 

It  was  by  the  miracles  that  Jesus  was  enabled  to  impress 
upon  his  followers  a  sense  of  his  power,  and  of  his  author¬ 
ity  as  a  messenger  of  truth.  And  what  was  true  of  his 
immediate  followers  is  largely  true  of  the  Church  from  that 
day  to  the  present.  It  matters  not  that  the  so-called 
miracles  were  misinterpreted  psychic  phenomena.  They 
were  not  misinterpreted  by  Jesus  himself;  for  he  never 
claimed  that  he  performed  his  works  outside  the  domain  of 
natural  law.  On  the  contrary,  he  distinctly  proclaimed  the 
fact  that  others  could  do  even  greater  things  than  he  had 
done  by  complying  with  the  conditions  which  he  prescribed. 
It  would  have  been  idle  for  him  to  attempt  to  explain  to  his 
followers  the  underlying  scientific  principles  which  enabled 
him  to  produce  his  phenomena ;  for  no  one  of  his  day  was 
capable  of  comprehending  them.  Moreover,  if  he  could 
have  succeeded  in  convincing  them  that  he  did  not  tran¬ 
scend  the  laws  of  Nature  in  the  performance  of  his  miracles, 
it  would  have  weakened  their  confidence  in  his  divine  mis¬ 
sion  ;  for  the  people  of  that  day  were  incapable  of  grasping 


1  Evidences  of  Christianity,  ch.  x. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


159 


the  idea  that  God  could  possibly  display  his  power  in  any 
other  way  than  by  some  signal  violation  of  his  own  laws. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Christian  religion  not  only 
had  its  inception  in  psychic  phenomena,  but  that  faith  in  it 
has  been  perpetuated  largely  by  a  misapprehension  of  the 
real  significance  of  the  psychic  manifestations  of  Jesus.  If, 
however,  the  miracles  alone  had  constituted  the  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  it  would  have  long  since  perished 
as  a  system  of  religion.  For  no  system  of  religion  which  is 
founded  upon  a  fundamental  error  can  long  withstand  the 
assaults  of  scientific  scepticism,  in  an  enlightened  age  and 
nation,  where  truth  is  left  free  to  combat  error.  In  a  prim¬ 
itive  age  a  claim  to  supernatural  power  may  serve  to  impose 
almost  any  system  of  religion  upon  a  people.  In  an 
enlightened  age  such  a  claim  is  ar  element  of  weakness ; 
and  a  theology  founded  upon  that  alone  must  eventually 
perish  and  be  forgotten.  The  assaults  of  scepticism  upon 
the  Christian  religion  have  been  almost  exclusively  upon  the 
dogma  of  supernaturalism  ;  and  had  its  claims  to  a  divine 
origin  rested  alone  upon  that,  it  must  have  yielded  to  the 
first  onslaught  of  scientific  scepticism.  That  it  has  sus¬ 
tained  the  shock  of  scientific  criticism,  and  is  still  a  great 
and  growing  power  in  the  most  enlightened  age  the  world 
has  ever  seen,  and  is  now  the  most  potential  force  in  the 
social  systems  of  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth, 
is  indubitable  evidence  that  it  possesses  an  inherent  vitality 
that  must  be  looked  for  outside  the  domain  of  the  super¬ 
natural.  In  the  ensuing  chapter  I  propose  briefly  to 
inquire  into  the  secret  of  the  wonderful  vitality  of  the 
Christian  religion. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  INTUITIVE  PERCEPTION  OF  TRUTH. 

Books  that  thrill  the  Reader  with  Pleasurable  Emotions.  —  Theories 
to  account  for  it.  —  Literary  Style.  —  Personal  Magnetism.  —  The 
Soul’s  Love  of  Truth.  —  Books  Popular  in  proportion  to  their 
Truth.  —  The  Scriptures.  — The  Philosophy  of  Jesus.  —  Intuitional 
Perception  of  its  Truth.  —  Evolution  of  Religion.  —  Christianity 
the  Final  Goal. — The  Impossibility  of  improving  upon  True 
Christianity.  —  The  Absolute  Religion. 

TT  has  often  been  remarked  by  intelligent  readers  of 
*  books  that  some  authors  have  a  faculty  of  impressing 
their  personality  upon  their  literary  productions ;  so  that 
one  experiences,  when  reading  them,  a  thrill  of  pleasure 
and  satisfaction  akin  to  that  felt  when  listening  to  an  orator 
who  possesses  what  is  known  as  great  “  personal  magnet¬ 
ism.”  Some  have  attributed  this  feeling  wholly  to  the 
literary  style  of  the  author ;  whilst  others,  more  prone  to 
suspect  that  an  occult  force  is  concealed  behind  every 
phenomenon,  have  held  that  the  “  personal  magnetism  ”  of 
every  author  is,  in  some  inexplicable  way,  impressed  upon 
the  pages  of  his  book.  It  seems  obvious  that  neither  of 
these  explanations  can  possibly  be  the  true  one. 

The  first  cannot  be  true,  for  the  reason  that  it  often 
happens  that  works  which  create  the  deepest  impression 
upon  mankind  are  written  in  a  very  unattractive  style ; 
whilst  other  works  leave  no  lasting  impression  upon  the 
minds  of  their  readers,  although  couched  in  terms  of 
faultless  elegance.  The  second  explanation  is  defective, 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  l6l 

even  to  absurdity ;  for  whatever  occult  force,  personal 
magnetism,  or  psychometric  or  telepathic  impression  might 
be  supposed  to  accompany  an  author’s  personal  manuscript, 
it  is  obvious  that  it  could  not  be  transmitted  to  the  printed 
page  which  the  author  never  saw  or  handled.  Besides,  it 
often  happens  that  editions  of  an  author’s  works  are  printed 
hundreds  of  years  after  he  is  dead ;  but  it  has  never  been 
noted  that  the  element  of  so-called  “personal  magnetism” 
diminishes  in  force  or  intensity  as  the  editions  of  his  works 
are  multiplied.  The  thrill  of  satisfaction  which  every  man 
of  intelligence  feels  when  reading  the  lines  of  Shakespeare 
is  not  diminished  in  intensity  as  the  years  go  by ;  nor  does 
it  suffer  any  appreciable  change  since  it  has  been  claimed 
that  they  were  written  by  the  “  greatest,  wisest,  meanest  of 
mankind.”  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  we  must  seek  else¬ 
where  than  in  elegance  of  diction  or  personal  magnetism 
for  an  explanation  of  the  secret  of  the  permanent  popularity 
of  a  book. 

Broadly  speaking,  a  book  is  permanently  popular  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  truth  it  contains.  Works  of 
fiction  constitute  no  exception  to  this  rule ;  for  our  appre¬ 
ciation  of  a  novel  is  in  exact  proportion  to  the  fidelity  to 
nature  with  which  its  characters  are  portrayed.  What  is 
true  of  a  work  of  fiction  is  necessarily  true  of  a  work  pro¬ 
fessing  to  deal  with  facts,  as  in  history,  or  with  principles, 
as  in  science,  in  philosophy,  or  in  religion. 

The  love  of  truth  is  inherent  in  the  normal  human  soul, 
and  its  recognition  of  truth  is  instinctive.  This  in  itself 
constitutes  a  psychic  phenomenon  of  the  utmost  impor¬ 
tance  ;  and  it  is  one  which  must  enter  as  a  factor  into  every 
correct  diagnosis  of  the  attributes  of  the  psychic  entity.  It 
is  this  instinctive  perception  or  recognition  of  truth  when  it 
is  presented  that  gives  rise  to  that  emotional  thrill  of  pleas¬ 
ure  and  satisfaction  which  one  experiences  when  reading 
the  statement  of  a  vital  truth.  It  is  the  soul’s  response  to 


ii 


1 62  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

a  suggestion  which  is  in  accord  with  its  own  deductions 
from  the  facts  of  its  own  experience.  In  this  connection  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  memory  of  the  subjective 
mind  is  perfect,  and  that  its  power  of  deductive  reasoning 
is  also  perfect.  It  is,  however,  devoid  of  the  power  of 
induction  proper,  being  constantly  amenable  to  control  by 
suggestion.  When,  therefore,  a  suggestion  is  imparted  to  it 
that  corresponds  to  its  own  deductions,  it  instantly  recog¬ 
nizes  its  truth  and  responds  with  a  thrill  of  pleasurable 
emotion.  This  emotion  alone  is  indubitable  evidence  that 
it  is  a  purely  subjective  experience,  since  the  subjective 
mind  or  soul  is  the  seat  of  the  emotions  as  well  as  the 
storehouse  of  memory. 

This  phenomenon  is  experienced  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  upon  the  perusal  of  any  book  which  contains  what 
the  reader  recognizes  as  truth ;  and  the  intensity  of  the 
emotion  experienced  is  in  proportion  to  his  estimate  of  the 
degree  of  importance  to  be  attached  to  it  as  affecting  him¬ 
self.  For  the  purpose  of  this  inquiry,  however,  books  must 
be  divided  into  two  general  classes.  Those  which  treat  of 
temporal  affairs  belong  to  one  class,  and  those  which  deal 
with  questions  pertaining  to  the  attributes,  powers,  and 
destiny  of  the  soul  belong  to  the  other.  Those  belonging 
to  the  first  class  never  produce  the  phenomenon  proper  of 
which  we  speak.  Such  books  may  be  never  so  interesting 
or  important  to  the  temporal  well-being  of  man,  yet  they 
rarely,  if  ever,  produce  other  than  a  purely  intellectual 
enjoyment. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  which  pertains  to  the  soul  is 
taken  cognizance  of  by  the  soul,  which  is  moved  to  emo¬ 
tion,  pleasurable  or  otherwise,  just  in  proportion  to  its 
recognition  of  the  vital  truths  which  a  book  contains.  By 
this  it  is  not  meant  to  convey  the  implication  that  the  emo¬ 
tions  experienced  on  reading  a  book  are  infallible  standards 
of  truth.  On  the  contrary,  our  subjective  perception  of 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  163 

truth  is  oftentimes  neutralized  by  our  objective  perceptions 
or  prejudices,  or  from  those  primordial  anterior  suggestions 
arising  from  fixed  habits  of  thought  or  moral  principles. 
But  truth  possesses  an  inherent  vitality  which  no  amount 
of  error  can  wholly  extinguish.  In  the  long  run  truth  must 
prevail,  in  spite  of  passion  and  prejudice.  Hence  it  is  that 
books  which  contain  vital  truths,  however  modest  their  pre¬ 
tensions  or  homely  their  style,  will  be  enshrined  and  live 
forever  in  the  hearts  of  their  readers,  whilst  the  more  pre¬ 
tentious  volume,  devoid  of  the  vitalizing  element  of  truth, 
though  adorned  with  all  the  perfections  which  learning  and 
eloquence  may  impart,  makes  no  permanent  impression 
upon  the  souls  of  men,  and  is  soon  forgotten  by  the  intel¬ 
lectual  world. 

The  faculty  of  perceiving  those  truths  which  affect  the 
human  soul  is  inherent  in  the  soul,  although  it  is  in  rare 
cases  only  that  it  is  largely  developed  in  any  one  individual. 
Jesus  was  probably  the  only  man  who  was  endowed  with 
this  faculty  in  perfection ;  that  is,  he  was  the  only  one,  of 
whose  life  we  have  any  record,  who  possessed  the  power  of 
independent  perception  of  the  laws  of  the  soul.  Others 
possess  that  power  only  in  the  limited  sense  that  they  are 
able  to  grasp  and  comprehend  the  truth  when  it  is  pre¬ 
sented  to  them.  But  in  that  sense  it  is  so  generally  diffused 
among  mankind  that  in  the  aggregate  it  must  be  counted  as 
a  most  important  factor  in  the  social,  moral,  and  religious 
world ;  and  in  an  enlightened  community  it  prevents  any 
radical  misconception  of  the  fundamental  principles  of 
morality  and  religion. 

The  intelligent  reader  will  have  anticipated  me  in  what 
I  am  to  say  regarding  the  practical  application  of  these 
observations  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Christian 
religion.  It  seems  to  me,  that  is  to  say,  that  the  fact  that 
Christianity  still  exists  as  a  system  of  religion,  is  evidence, 
little  short  of  demonstrative,  that  it  is  founded  upon  the 


564  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

true  science  of  the  human  soul.  It  is  certainly  the  strongest 
possible  corroborative  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  claim 
that  Jesus  correctly  expounded  the  laws  of  the  soul  in  its 
relations  to  the  divine  intelligence.  There  can  be  no  other 
rational  explanation  of  the  pregnant  fact  that  the  Christian 
religion  has  survived  the  assaults  of  its  enemies  for  nearly 
nineteen  hundred  years,  and  is  still  the  religion  of  the  most 
enlightened  nations  of  the  earth.  It  has  not  only  survived 
the  assaults  of  its  enemies,  but  it  flourishes  in  spite  of  the 
mistakes  of  its  friends.  If  it  had  not  been  founded  upon 
the  rock  of  Eternal  Truth,  it  might  have  temporarily  im¬ 
bibed  a  vitalizing  inspiration  from  the  opposition  of  con¬ 
flicting  religions,  but  it  never  could  have  survived  the 
proselyting  methods  of  Charlemagne,  the  zeal  of  the  Inqui¬ 
sition,  or  the  dogma  of  plenary  inspiration. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  system  of  religion  has  ever  flour¬ 
ished  amidst  so  many  adverse  conditions  as  has  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion.  It  had  its  roots  in  a  region  remote  from  the 
centres  of  civilization,  and  among  a  nomadic  race,  who 
were  poor,  and  despised  and  reprobated  and  persecuted 
by  their  more  powerful  neighbors.  From  the  first  it  en¬ 
countered  the  refined  philosophy  of  the  most  enlightened 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  it  has  been  engaged  in  stubborn 
conflict  with  all  the  material  science  of  modern  civilization. 
It  has  its  literary  setting  in  a  volume  which  teaches  an 
absurd  astronomy,  an  impossible  geography,  and  a  cos¬ 
mogony  the  crudeness  of  which  is  detected  and  exposed 
by  the  learning  of  every  school-boy. 

And  yet  it  exists,  not  in  decrepitude  and  decay,  but  as  a 
vital  element  in  every  civilization  worthy  of  the  name.  Its 
votaries  have  thrust  it  into  conflict  with  every  science,  and 
it  has  been  defeated  in  every  encounter.  Yet  it  is  not 
relegated  to  the  domain  of  ignorance,  but  flourishes  in  the 
greatest  luxuriance  of  growth  and  vitality  in  those  nations 
whose  people  are  the  most  enlightened  and  progressive. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  1 65 

That  there  is  to  be  found,  within  the  realm  of  natural 
causes,  some  good  and  sufficient  reason  for  this  apparent 
paradox,  is  not  to  be  doubted.  The  explanation  afforded 
by  the  doctrine  of  a  continuous  miracle  must  be  regarded 
as  scientifically  untenable.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  follow¬ 
ing  propositions  afford  at  least  a  partial  solution  of  the 
problem  :  — 

1.  Jesus  Christ  was  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  intuitional 
perception  of  the  natural  laws  of  the  human  soul ;  and  he 
proclaimed  to  mankind,  in  a  few  simple  propositions,  the 
essential  principles  which  govern  the  relationship  of  man  to 
his  fellow-man  and  to  God. 

2.  All  men  are  endowed  with  the  same  intuitional  powers, 
differing  only  in  degree ;  and  by  this  means  they  are 
enabled  to  recognize,  when  once  presented,  any  truth  which 
is  essential  to  the  welfare  of  the  human  soul. 

3.  It  follows  that,  when  one  reads  the  simple  but  all- 
comprehensive  philosophy  of  Jesus,  his  soul  intuitively  and 
instantaneously  recognizes  its  essential  truth. 

This  is  what  has  been,  by  the  Church,  vaguely  denomi¬ 
nated  a  “spiritual  perception  of  religious  truth,”  —  a  phrase 
which  describes  the  emotion  correctly  enough,  but  which 
has  never  itself  been  scientifically  or  philosophically  ex¬ 
plained.  When  the  emotion  of  religious  worship,  which  is 
an  inherent  attribute  of  every  normally  developed  human 
soul,  is  taken  into  consideration,  it  will  be  readily  under¬ 
stood  why  it  is  that  the  Bible  affords  consolation  to  such  a 
vast  multitude  of  the  human  race.  It  is  not  alone  the 
words  of  Jesus  which  proclaim  religious  truth,  but  scattered 
all  through  both  the  New  Testament  and  the  Old  may  be 
found  passages  innumerable  upon  which  is  stamped  the 
sign-manual  of  eternal  truth.  Variable  and  diverse  as  are 
the  emotions  and  aspirations,  the  spiritual  wants  and 
necessities  of  aggregate  humanity,  there  may  be  found  in 
the  Scriptures  something  to  fit  every  case,  something  to 


1 66  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

pour  the  balm  of  consolation  into  every  stricken  breast, 
something  to  inspire  every  human  heart  with  hope ;  in 
short,  in  its  power  of  adaptation  to  all  the  experiences  of 
human  consciousness,  the  Bible  is  unequalled  by  any  other 
production,  human  or  divine. 

The  philosophy  of  Jesus,  however,  constitutes  the  chief 
corner-stone  of  the  whole  superstructure.  It  is  that  which 
imparts  vitality  to  the  whole  body  of  religious  doctrine  con¬ 
tained  in  the  Bible,  which  but  for  that  philosophy  would 
have  long  since  yielded  to  the  assaults  of  scientific  scepticism. 
But  vital  truth  can  never  be  wholly  obliterated,  however 
thickly  it  may  be  overlaid  with  error.  It  may  be  tempo¬ 
rarily  obscured,  but  the  intuitive  powers  of  the  soul  are  safe 
guides  to  its  recognition  wherever  found.  Hence  it  is  that 
the  Christian  religion  has  never  lost  its  inherent  vitality 
amidst  the  adverse  influences  with  which  it  has  been 
surrounded,  but  constitutes  the  essential  vitalizing  force  in 
the  civilization  of  every  enlightened  nation. 

I  do  not  undertake  to  say  that  these  facts  constitute  con¬ 
clusive  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrines  of  Jesus;  but, 
from  a  logical  and  scientific  standpoint,  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  they  constitute  presumptive  evidence  that,  in 
its  essential  features,  his  philosophy  bears  the  impress  of 
truth.  I  certainly  know  of  no  other  way  of  accounting  for 
the  hold  which  the  Christian  religion  has  upon  the  mind 
and  heart  of  civilized  humanity,  than  to  suppose  that  it  is 
the  aggregate  result  of  the  inherent  power  of  man  to 
recognize  truth  by  intuition.  It  is  certainly  an  adequate 
explanation,  and,  in  the  absence  of  a  better  one,  we  are 
logically  driven  to  its  provisional  acceptance. 

Here,  then,  we  find  another  psychic  phenomenon  of  the 
most  stupendous  proportions  and  of  the  most  far-reaching 
significance ;  for  it  is  participated  in  by  all  Christendom, 
and  the  subject-matter  involves  the  most  momentous  prob¬ 
lems  of  human  life ;  indeed,  it  may  be  added  that  the 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


1 67 


ethical  doctrines  of  Jesus  are  universally  accepted  wherever 
they  are  known,  whether  in  Christian  or  in  pagan  lands. 
This  part  of  his  teachings  may  be  summed  up  in  these 
words  :  The  universal  brotherhood  of  man,  charity  for  the 
poor  and  unfortunate,  peace  on  earth,  and  love  and  good¬ 
will  to  all  mankind.  No  one  disputes  the  soundness  of 
these  principles,  or  doubts  their  universal  practicability  as  a 
code  of  ethics  for  all  humanity.  Jesus  was  the  first  to  teach 
them  in  their  entirety.  The  Golden  Rule,  it  is  true,  was 
formulated  many  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ ;  but  the 
idea  of  mankind  as  constituting  one  universal  brotherhood, 
the  children  of  one  God,  was  his ;  and  so  was  the  doctrine 
of  charity,  peace,  love,  and  good-will.  It  was  these  doctrines 
that  first  broke  down  the  barrier  between  the  Jews  and  the 
Gentiles  and  between  the  black  and  the  white,  and  that 
has  since  struck  off  the  shackles  from  untold  millions  of 
slaves,  mitigated  the  cruelties  of  war,  promoted  the  arts  and 
sciences,  justice  and  benevolence,  freedom  and  good  govern¬ 
ment,  and  established  as  the  chief  corner-stone  of  our 
civilization  the  idea  of  the  sanctity  of  human  life  and  the 
inalienability  of  human  liberty. 

What  I  have  said  of  the  ethical  doctrines  of  Jesus  applies 
with  almost  equal  force  to  his  whole  system  of  religion. 
His  fundamental  idea  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  and  his 
doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  when  added  to  the 
ethical  principles  before  mentioned,  may  be  said  to  consti¬ 
tute  the  essential  features  of  his  whole  system  of  ethics, 
morals  and  religion.  And  it  will  not  be  denied  that,  as  a 
whole,  they  appeal  strongly  to  the  unperverted  intuitions  of 
all  mankind.  Indeed,  there  is  practically  but  one  of  his 
doctrines  that  has  ever  been  seriously  disputed ;  namely, 
that  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  No  one  disputes  the 
existence  of  a  higher  power  to  which  all  things  are  subject. 
The  differences  of  opinion  concerning  that  power  are 
merely  different  conceptions  of  its  attributes.  Pantheism  is 


1 68  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

but  a  variety  of  theism,  and  atheism  really  exists  only  in  name. 
Science  has  disputed  the  doctrine  of  immortal  life  largely 
because  it  has  been  asked  to  accept  it  on  faith  alone ;  that 
is  to  say,  because  the  proofs  offered  have  been  inadequate 
from  the  standpoint  of  material  science.  It  is,  nevertheless, 
true  that  the  human  soul  instinctively  recognizes  the  truth 
of  every  essential  doctrine  that  Jesus  promulgated. 

I  have  spoken  in  previous  chapters  of  the  “  evolution  of 
the  spiritual  man.”  It  would  have  been  equally  appropriate 
to  designate  the  various  epochs  I  have  mentioned,  as  steps 
in  the  evolution  of  religion ;  for  they  are  but  different 
aspects  of  the  same  subject-matter.  Considered  as  steps 
in  the  evolution  of  spiritual  humanity,  the  process  still  goes 
on,  and  must  go  on  until  perfection  is  reached,  until  all 
humanity  reaches  the  altitude  of  spiritual  development  at¬ 
tained  by  Jesus  himself.  Indeed,  the  evolution  of  the 
spiritual  man  is,  in  one  sense,  but  a  step  in  the  great 
process  of  organic  evolution.  It  is  the  final  step  in  that 
process  of  development  which  began  in  protoplasm  and 
culminated  in  man.  I  say  “  culminated  in  man  ;  ”  for  the 
same  process  of  reasoning,  the  same  series  of  phenomena, 
which  demonstrates  the  scientific  truth  of  the  doctrine  of 
organic  evolution,  proclaims  man  as  the  highest  creature 
that  can  ever  have  an  existence  on  this  earth,  —  as  the  goal 
towards  which  Nature  tended  from  the  beginning.  Having 
attained  that  altitude,  the  process  of  zoological  change  came 
to  an  end,  and  henceforth  the  dominant  aspect  of  evolution 
is,  and  must  henceforth  be,  in  the  direction  of  intellectual 
and  spiritual  progress  and  development. 

Considered  as  steps  in  the  evolution  of  religion,  the 
same  series  of  phenomena  which  we  have  been  considering 
culminated  in  the  religion  which  Jesus  taught.  And  that 
was  the  end  of  what  may  be  termed  the  organic  evolution 
of  religion.  It  reached  its  highest  possible  altitude  in  the 
simple  but  grand  and  all-comprehensive  code  embraced  in 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


169 


Christianity.  By  the  term  “  Christianity  ”  I  do  not  mean 
that  vast  mass  of  theological  doctrine  evolved  by  Augustine, 
Athanasius,  Clement,  Justin  Martyr,  and  Tertullian ;  nor  do 
I  refer  in  the  remotest  degree  to  that  mass  of  dogma  so 
ingeniously  aggregated  by  the  lesser  lights  of  later  years, 
which  has  usurped  the  title  of  Christianity.  I  mean  the 
pure  and  simple  code  of  morals,  ethics,  and  religion  —  the 
real  and  essential  Christianity  —  which  fell  from  the  lips  of 
the  man  of  Nazareth.  I  repeat,  that  was  the  end  of  the 
evolution  of  religion  on  this  earth ;  for  in  that  code  perfec¬ 
tion  was  attained.  No  one  has  ever  succeeded  in  improv¬ 
ing  upon  it.  No  one  has  ever  been  able  to  conceive  a 
higher  standard.  We  hear  much  of  “  the  religion  of  hu¬ 
manity  ”  from  those  who  would  free  themselves  from  the 
restraints  of  the  creeds  and  dogmas  of  the  Church  ;  but 
the  “religion  of  humanity ”  owes  its  principles  to  Jesus, 
and  to  him  alone  ;  and  the  highest  ideals  of  altruism  find 
their  realization  in  the  same  perfect  character.  Says  Renan  : 

“Jesus  founded  the  absolute  religion,  excluding  nothing,  de¬ 
termining  nothing,  save  its  essence.  .  .  .  The  foundation  of  the 
true  religion  is  indeed  his  work.  After  him  there  is  nothing 
more  but  to  develop  and  fructify.”  1 

The  only  attempt  that  has  ever  been  made  to  find  a 
vulnerable  point  in  the  doctrines  of  Jesus  has  been  in  the 
form  of  a  declaration  that  the  ethics  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  “  are  too  good  for  this  world.”  It  may  be  true  that 
some  of  his  precepts  are  impracticable  in  the  present  state 
of  civilization.  It  may  be  that  the  meek  shall  not  inherit 
the  earth  for  many  long  years  to  come.  But  the  process  of 
the  evolution  of  humanity  towards  a  higher  civilization  has 
not  yet  ceased  ;  and  we  may  rest  assured  that  the  time  is 
approaching  when  there  will  be  universal  “  peace  on  earth 
and  good-will  to  all  mankind.”  The  religion  of  Jesus  is 
for  all  time  to  come.  It  is  the  religion  of  the  poor  and  the 
1  Life  of  Jesus. 


170  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


lowly,  and  it  is  adapted  to  the  highest  civilization  conceiv¬ 
able  by  man.  It  is  the  final  religion  of  humanity ;  and  though 
the  earth  in  the  fulness  of  time  may  pass  away,  his  words 
shall  not  pass  away.  This  is  why  I  have  remarked  that  the 
evolution  of  religion  ceased  when  Jesus  promulgated  his 
doctrines.  It  had  attained  perfection ;  and  that  is  all  that 
evolution  can  do.  It  is  true  that  his  teachings  have  been 
misunderstood  and  perverted,  and  for  many  long  years  the 
evolution  of  religion  has  progressed  backward.  A  vast 
system  of  theology  has  been  erected,  ostensibly  upon  the 
foundation  which  he  laid,  —  a  theology  much  of  which  bears 
no  resemblance  to  true  Christianity.  But  this  was  because 
man  was,  as  he  still  is,  imperfect.  As  civilization  progresses, 
however,  man  will  be  released  from  the  thraldom  of  creed 
and  dogma,  and  revert  to  the  pure  and  simple  code  of  the 
man  of  Nazareth.  “  For  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay 
than  that  is  laid.”  1  “  After  him  there  is  nothing  more  but 

to  develop  and  fructify.” 

As  in  the  organic  world  the  highest  possible  type  is  man, 
so  in  the  religious  world  the  highest  possible  type  is  Chris¬ 
tianity  ;  and  all  future  evolution  of  man  or  of  religion 
must  be  in  the  direction  of  a  higher  civilization,  —  a  more 
perfect  manhood,  with  all  that  the  name  implies. 


1  I  Corinthians  iii.  it. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA  OF  PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIANS. 

Spiritistic  Phenomena  among  the  Early  Christians.  —  Testimony  of 
the  Christian  P'athers.  —  The  Departure  from  Jesus’  Example. — 
Paul’s  Explanation  of  Spiritistic  Phenomena.  —  John’s  Tests. — 
Paul’s  Ecstatic.  —  The  Oriental  Ecstatics.  —  Modern  Occidental 
Ecstatics. — Alleged  Perception  of  Divine  Truth  in  the  Ecstatic 
Condition.  —  Neither  Jesus,  Paul,  nor  John  believed  in  Spiritism. 
—  Primitive  Christianity  promoted  by  Psychic  Phenomena.  —  Con¬ 
stantine.  —  The  Priesthood.  —  Prohibition  of  Psychic  Manifesta¬ 
tions  among  the  Laity.  —  The  Beneficence  of  the  Inhibition. 

TT  would  be  interesting  and  perhaps  profitable  to  trace  the 
*  history  of  psychic  phenomena  from  the  time  of  Jesus 
down  through  the  dark  ages,  and  to  note  its  influence  upon 
the  Christian  Church  both  before  and  after  the  days  of 
Constantine.  But,  fortunately  for  the  common  people,  the 
production  of  the  phenomena,  after  the  first  three  hundred 
years  of  primitive  Christianity,  was  confined  largely  to  the 
priesthood,  —  that  body  having  set  up  a  claim  to  the  exclusive 
right  to  work  miracles,  by  virtue  of  their  claim  to  the  apos¬ 
tolic  succession.  The  result  of  this  was  that  its  production 
was  diverted  to  vastly  different  uses  from  those  contem¬ 
plated  by  the  Master,  and  its  history  is,  consequently,  so 
contorted  and  obscured  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  separate 
the  genuine  from  the  spurious. 

It  will  be  comparatively  easy,  however,  to  discover  the 
influence  which  psychic  manifestations  exerted  upon  the 
early  Christians,  and  to  speculate  with  some  degree  of 


172 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


accuracy  upon  the  effect  which  phenomena  cognate  to  if 
not  identical  with  those  of  modern  spiritism  had  upon  the 
destinies  of  the  Church  and  the  character  of  its  teachings ; 
but,  in  a  work  like  the  present,  even  this  can  be  but  briefly 
alluded  to. 

It  is  well  known  that  such  phenomena  began  to  be  pro¬ 
duced  among  the  early  Christians  almost  immediately  after 
the  Crucifixion,  and  continued  to  be  a  salient  feature  of 
Church  customs,  certainly  until  the  days  of  Constantine. 
This  fact  is  abundantly  attested  by  the  writings  of  the  early 
Christian  Fathers,  healing  of  the  sick  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands  being  one  of  the  most  common  of  the  manifestations 
of  psychic  power.  This  power  was  not  then  confined  to  any 
one  class  or  rank,  but  was  possessed  by  all  who  observed 
the  conditions  prescribed  by  the  Master.  The  physical 
condition  necessary  for  the  most  successful  work  of  this 
kind  being  identical  with  that  required  for  the  production 
of  other  phenomena,  it  soon  became  a  common  practice  to 
go  through  with  the  whole  repertoire  of  what  are  now  known 
as  spiritistic  phenomena.  Saint  Paul  himself  mentions  a 
long  list  of  such  phenomena  which  were  produced  in  his 
day  ; 1  and  Ignatius  has  this  to  say,  — 

“  Some  in  the  Church  most  certainly  have  a  knowledge  of 
things  to  come.  Some  have  visions,  others  utter  prophecies, 
and  heal  the  sick  by  laying  on  of  hands ;  and  others  still 
speak  in  many  tongues,  bringing  to  light  the  secret  things  of 
men  [telepathy]  and  expounding  the  mysteries  of  God.” 

Saint  Anthony  declared  that,  after  fasting,  he  had  often 
been  surrounded  by  bands  of  angels,  “  and  joyfully  joined  in 
singing  with  them.”  Tatian  declares  that  “  our  virgins  at 
the  distaff  utter  divine  oracles,  see  visions,  and  sing  the 
holy  words  that  are  given  them,”  being  “  full  of  the  faith 
in  Christ.”  Tertullian  relates  the  case  of  a  sister  in  the 


1  See  1  Corinthians  xii. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


173 


Church,  who,  when  entranced,  was  able  to  see  spirits ;  and 
Montannas  affirms  with  great  emphasis  that  prophecies, 
the  power  to  heal  the  sick,  “  tongues  and  visions,  are  the 
divine  inheritance  of  the  true  Christian.”  These  statements 
are  amply  confirmed  by  Apollinaris,  Barnabas,  Clement, 
Cyprian,  Lactantius,  Papias,  and  others.  It  was  a  common 
event  in  these  manifestations  for  their  psychics  to  hold 
alleged  communication  with  the  angels;  and  Tertullian 
declares  that,  during  religious  services,  they  became  en¬ 
tranced,  and  sometimes  “beheld  Jesus  himself,  heard  the 
divine  mysteries  explained,”  and  “  read  the  hearts”  of  those 
present. 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  observe  that  these  manifesta¬ 
tions  were  identical  with  the  so-called  spirit  manifestations  of 
the  present  day.  But  it  is  worth  while  to  note  the  fact  that 
not  one  of  them  was  authorized  or  countenanced  by  Jesus, 
with  the  single  exception  of  that  of  healing  the  sick.  This  is 
a  most  significant  fact,  and  it  is  demonstrative  evidence  that 
he  discountenanced  the  practice,  knowing,  as  only  he  could 
know,  that  communication  with  spirits  was  impossible.  He 
knew  the  laws  governing  all  such  manifestations,  and  it  is 
to  the  last  degree  improbable  that  he  would  have  neglected 
to  instruct  his  followers  in  the  art  of  spirit  intercourse,  if  by 
that  means  they  could  have  been  put  into  communication 
with  intelligences  capable  of  “  explaining  the  divine  mys¬ 
teries.”  It  is  also  to  the  last  degree  improbable  that  one 
whose  mission  it  was  to  “bring  life  and  immortality  to  light  ” 
would  have  neglected  so  glorious  an  opportunity  to  demon¬ 
strate  the  truth  of  his  teachings,  and  to  point  out  a  means 
by  which  his  disciples  could  hold  communion  not  only 
with  angels  and  ministers  of  grace,  but  with  himself  after  he 
had  ascended  to  the  Father.  His  whole  life  and  career  was 
a  living  protest  against  that  species  of  psychism  wherein 
the  prophets  assumed  to  have  direct  verbal  communication 
with  God,  and  others  claimed  to  hold  communion  with 


174 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


spirits  of  the  dead ;  the  latter,  however,  being  denounced 
as  witchcraft  by  the  Mosaic  law  and  punished  with  death. 
Is  it  not  probable  and  in  keeping  with  the  whole  character 
and  the  career  —  the  mission  —  of  Christ,  which  was  to 
teach  spiritual  truth  to  mankind,  that,  if  communication 
with  spirits  of  the  dead  had  been  possible,  and  if  it  had  been 
that  beneficent  practice  which  modern  spiritists  would  have 
us  believe  it  to  be,  he  would  have  in  some  way  indicated 
to  us  his  approval  of  such  practices?  If  it  is  true  that 
spirits  of  the  dead  can  communicate  with  the  living  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  this  world,  he  knew  it.  If  it  is  true,  it  is  important 
for  us  to  know  it ;  for  that  would  be  demonstrative  of  a 
future  life.  If  it  is  demonstrative  of  a  future  life,  he  would 
surely  have  informed  us  of  the  fact,  and  would  have  enjoined 
upon  mankind  a  diligent  cultivation  of  the  art  of  spirit  inter¬ 
course.  It  was  his  mission  to  teach  the  doctrine  of  immor¬ 
tality.  It  was  his  desire  and  purpose  to  demonstrate  the 
fact  of  immortality ;  and  he  accomplished  his  object  so  far 
as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do  so  in  the  age  in  which  he 
lived.  He  has  left  a  record  which  gives  us  indubitable 
evidence  of  his  perfect  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  human 
soul.  He  has  left  a  record  demonstrative  of  his  perfect 
character  and  of  his  zeal  for  the  promulgation  of  spiritual 
truth.  He  offered  up  his  life  as  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of 
spiritual  truth.  The  spirit  of  altruism  was  regnant  in  his 
whole  character ;  but  if  there  was  one  thing  more  than  an¬ 
other  wherein  that  spirit  was  manifest,  it  was  in  his  desire 
to  teach  to  mankind  the  fact  of  immortality.  It  is  simply 
a  monstrous  absurdity  to  suppose  that,  if  it  was  possible  to 
communicate  with  departed  souls,  he  deliberately  neglected 
so  grand  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the 
essential  doctrine  which  it  was  his  mission  to  bring  to  light ; 
and  that  it  was  left  for  hysterical  women  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  aided  and  abetted  by  convulsive  furniture,  to  teach 
us  “the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.” 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


i/5 


It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  he  was  not  aware  of  the 
psychic  manifestations  of  his  day,  and  of  the  current  theory 
of  their  origin. 

“  The  group,”  says  Renan,  “  that  pressed  around  him  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Lake  of  Tiberias  believed  in  spectres  and 
spirits.  Great  spiritual  manifestations  were  frequent.  All 
believed  themselves  to  be  inspired  in  different  ways.” 

But  there  is  no  record  to  show  that  he  did  more  than  to 
tolerate  the  current  beliefs.  He  did  not  sanction  them 
either  by  precept  or  by  example ;  much  less  did  he  encour¬ 
age  them  by  advancing  the  idea  that  the  phenomena  pro¬ 
ceeded  from  disembodied  spirits.  On  the  contrary,  his 
whole  life  was  a  protest  against  such  beliefs  and  such  prac-  J 
tices.  By  precept  and  example  he  taught  the  world  that 
healing  the  sick  was  the  only  legitimate  use  of  psychic  power ;  j 
and  the  lesson  of  his  three  temptations  in  the  wilderness  is 
that  neither  for  bread,  nor  for  glory,  nor  for  power,  nor  for 
emolument,  can  psychic  power  be  legitimately  exercised 
outside  of  the  limitations  which  he  prescribed. 

After  the  crucifixion  and  death  of  Jesus,  Saint  Paul 
appears  to  have  been  tolerant  of  the  psychic  manifestations 
which  soon  became  common  in  the  Church,  doubtless  for 
the  reason  that  it  was,  ir  that  primitive  and  superstitious 
age,  an  element  of  strength.  It  enabled  Christianity  to 
become  an  aggressive  power,  carrying  with  it  what  was  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  demonstrative  proofs  of  its  divine  source  in  the 
form  of  phenomena  the  supermundane  origin  of  which  in 
that  day  could  not  be  successfully  denied.  To  the  credit  of 
Saint  Paul,  however,  it  must  be  remarked  that  he  not  only 
had  a  very  clear  perception  of  the  true  origin  of  the  phenom¬ 
ena,  but  he  took  pains  to  place  on  record  a  statement  of  his 
convictions.  Paul  was  a  learned  man,  filled  to  saturation 
with  the  philosophies  of  the  civilized  world  ;  and  although 
he  sometimes  injected  some  of  his  Greek  philosophy  into 
that  of  Jesus,  yet  he  was  a  man  who  could  not  be  deceived 


1 76  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

as  to  the  true  origin  of  the  spiritistic  manifestations;  and  he 
took  particular  pains,  in  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
to  disabuse  their  minds  of  the  idea  that  the  phenomena 
which  at  the  time  appear  to  have  constituted  a  salient  feature 
of  Christian  worship,  had  their  origin  in  spirits  of  the  dead. 
In  the  first  eleven  verses  of  the  twelfth  chapter  of  first 
Corinthians  he  discourses  as  follows  :  — 

“  Now  concerning  spiritual  gifts,  brethren,  I  would  not  have 
you  ignorant. 

“Ye  know  that  ye  were  Gentiles,  carried  away  unto  these 
dumb  idols,  even  as  ye  were  led. 

«  Wherefore  I  give  you  to  understand,  that  no  man  speaking 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  calleth  Jesus  accursed:  and  that  no  man 
can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

“  Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit. 

“  And  there  are  differences  of  administrations,  but  the  same 
Lord. 

“  And  there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is  the  same 
God  which  worketh  all  in  all. 

“  But  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to 
profit  withal. 

“  For  to  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom;  to 
another,  the  word  of  knowledge  by  the  same  Spirit ; 

“To  another,  faith  by  the  same  Spirit;  to  another,  the  gifts 
of  healing  by  the  same  Spirit ; 

“To  another,  the  working  of  miracles  ;  to  another,  prophecy  ; 
to  another,  discerning  of  spirits  ;  to  another,  divers  kinds  of 
tongues ;  to  another,  the  interpretation  of  tongues ; 

“  But  all  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  selfsame  Spirit, 
dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will.” 

It  would  thus  appear  that  Paul  had  formulated  a  working 
hypothesis  regarding  all  spiritistic  phenomena,  the  essential 
features  of  which  were,  first,  the  repudiation  of  the  prevalent 
idea  that  the  different  manifestations  of  spirit  control  arose 
from  communion  with  a  corresponding  number  of  disem¬ 
bodied  spirits  ;  second,  the  broad  assertion  that  all  such 
phenomena  proceeded  from  the  same  source,  namely,  the 
spirit  of  God  manifest  in  and  through  that  part  of  Him 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


1 77 


which  constitutes  the  soul  of  the  psychic  who  produced  the 
phenomena.  There  is,  however,  one  phrase  in  the  fore¬ 
going  quotation  which  requires  a  word  to  make  it  clear; 
namely,  “to  another,  the  discerning  of  spirits.”  This  has 
been  held  to  imply  an  acknowledgment  by  Paul  of  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  the  power  to  see  spirits.  This  confusion  arises 
from  a  mistranslation  of  the  text.  Instead  of  “discerning,” 
which  implies  the  exercise  of  the  physical  function  of  see¬ 
ing,  the  word  should  be  discrimination,1  which  implies 
merely  the  mental  faculty  of  sound  judgment.  With  this 
view  of  the  case,  it  would  seem  that  the  power  of  dis¬ 
crimination,  when  applied  to  the  divers  gifts  and  manifesta¬ 
tions  mentioned  in  the  context,  was  the  most  desirable  of 
the  whole  repertoire ;  especially  when  we  take  into  consid¬ 
eration  “the  diversities  of  gifts,”  “the  differences  of  admin¬ 
istrations,”  and  the  “  diversities  of  operations,”  together 
with  the  law  of  suggestion,  which  was  just  as  potent  a  factor 
in  their  psychic  phenomena  as  it  is  in  ours.  John,  however, 
greatly  simplified  the  process  of  “discrimination”  in  such 
matters.  The  following  comprises  his  formula  :  — 

“  Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits  whether 
they  are  of  God  ;  because  many  false  prophets  are  gone  out  into 
the  world. 

“  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God  :  Every  spirit  that  con¬ 
fessed!  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  of  God : 

“And  every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
come  in  the  flesh,  is  not  of  God.  And  this  is  that  spirit  of  anti¬ 
christ,  whereof  ye  have  heard  that  it  should  come;  and  even 
now  already  is  it  in  the  world.” 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  John  was  in  perfect  accord  with 
Paul  in  his  method  of  “  discrimination  of  spirits.”  In  this 
connection  it  may  be  well  to  remark  that  the  phrase  “  try 
the  spirits  ”  has  often  been  held  to  imply  that  John  was  a 
believer  in  spiritism.  But  it  is  obvious  that  he  employed 

1  See  Rotherham’s  Literal  Translation. 

12 


1 73  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

the  word  in  a  sense  that  does  not  warrant  such  an  inference. 
He  mentions  but  two  spirits  ;  namely,  the  spirit  that  is  of 
God,  and  the  “  spirit  of  antichrist.”  This  clearly  indicates 
that  he  employed  the  term  to  designate  a  mental  condition 
or  disposition,  —  an  intellectual  or  moral  state,  and  not  a 
disembodied  soul.  Indeed,  the  one  definition  necessarily 
excludes  the  other.  Moreover,  on  general  principles  it  may 
be  definitely  affirmed  that  John  was  not  a  believer  in  spirit 
communications  from  the  other  world  ;  for  he  was  a  disciple 
of  Jesus,  and  had  imbibed  instruction  from  the  fountain¬ 
head.  Spiritists,  both  ancient  and  modern,  are  fully  per¬ 
suaded  that  they  are  in  complete  possession  of  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  world  to  come  and  of  the  general  internal 
economy  of  Heaven.  On  the  other  hand,  Jesus  did  not 
pretend  to  know ;  or  if  he  did,  he  consistently  refrained 
from  imparting  that  information  to  his  followers,  except  in 
the  most  general  terms,  which  will  be  noted  hereinafter. 
Hence  it  was  that  John,  notwithstanding  his  intimacy  with 
the  Master,  was  forced  to  confess  that  he  knew  nothing  of 
what  is  in  store  for  us  on  the  other  side.  “  It  doth  not  yet 
appear,”  said  he,  “  what  we  shall  be  ;  but  we  know  that, 
when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him ;  for  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is.”  1 

Saint  Paul  has  also  been  accused  of  spiritism,  the  accusa¬ 
tion  being  based  upon  the  passage  wherein  he  says,  — 

“  I  knew  a  man  in  Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago,  (whether 
in  the  body,  I  cannot  tell;  or  whether  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot 
tell  [i.  e.  whether  his  soul  left  the  body  or  not]:  God  know- 
eth  ; )  such  an  one  was  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven. 

“  And  I  knew  such  a  man,  (whether  in  the  body,  or  out  of  the 
body,  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoweth  ; ) 

“  How  that  he  was  caught  up  into  paradise,  and  heard  un¬ 
speakable  words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter.” 2 

Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  literature  of  ecstasis 
will  readily  understand  that  Paul  was  describing  a  person 
1  I  John  iii.  2.  2  2  Corinthians  xii.  2-4. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


179 


who  was  in  that  psychic  condition  known  as  “  ecstasy.”  It 
is  a  state  of  profound  hypnosis,  the  deepest  that  can  be 
produced  with  safety  to  the  subject,  and  the  consequent 
phenomena  depends,  as  in  all  other  grades  of  hypnotism, 
upon  the  dominant  suggestion  in  the  mind  of  the  subject 
when  he  enters  the  state.  It  is  frequently  self-induced, 
especially  among  the  East  Indian  adepts  and  Yogis,  many 
of  whom  spend  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  in  that  condi¬ 
tion,  or  for  preparing  themselves  for  entering  it.  They 
induce  it  by  sitting  in  one  attitude  for  an  indefinite  length 
of  time  and  thinking  about  themselves ;  the  latter  part  of 
the  process  being  by  them  denominated  “  introspection.” 
By  this  means  a  state  of  profound  hypnotism  is  induced, 
accompanied  by  an  equally  profound  and  all-comprehensive 
egotism,  the  result  aimed  at  being  what  is  known  in  their 
vocabulary  as  “  illumination.”  This  state  of  “illumination  ” 
appears  to  be  the  culmination  of  the  ecstatic  condition  ;  that 
is,  they  have  reached  a  point  where  egotism  can  go  no 
farther.  It  is  then  that  they  identify  themselves  with  the 
forces  of  Nature,  and  imagine  that  they  can  thunder  and 
produce  earthquakes  and  other  cataclysms,  and  that  they 
are  in  possession  of  all  knowledge  and  power  and  all 
dominion. 

It  may  be  remarked,  in  passing,  that  upon  this  phenomenon 
is  based  the  Oriental  claim  to  superior  knowledge  of  science 
and  of  the  laws  of  Nature  which  is  so  confidently  set  up  by 
those  self-immolated  victims  of  subjective  hallucination.  It 
is  this  mental  condition,  entered  into  in  utter  and  profound 
ignorance  of  the  fundamental  law  which  governs  all  psychic 
phenomena,  that  gives  rise  to  their  lofty  contempt  for  West¬ 
ern  science  and  civilization.  They  never  tell  us  what  they 
have  seen  or  what  spiritual  secrets  they  have  penetrated  in 
this  state  of  “  illumination,”  but  declare  that  “  the  world  is 
not  ready  to  receive  it,”  etc.,  etc.,  and  bid  us  wait  until 
they  decide  that  the  time  is  auspicious  for  them  to  yield  up 


i  So 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


the  sura  total  of  the  secrets  of  Nature.  About  the  cosmog¬ 
ony  of  the  physical  universe,  however,  they  are  not  always 
so  reticent,  but  will  cheerfully  inform  us  that  out  of  their 
“cosmic  consciousness”  they  have  evolved  many  truths  of 
the  utmost  importance,  such  as  that  the  earth  is  the  centre 
of  the  physical  universe,  and  that  the  sun  revolves  around 
it ;  that  there  is  to  the  north  of  us  a  great  mountain  behind 
which  the  sun,  moon,  and  the  other  planets  retire  in  their 
turn  to  rest ;  that  eclipses  of  the  moon  are  caused  by  “  dark 
planets  ”  coming  between  the  earth  and  the  moon,1  and 
many  other  such  “  truths,”  of  which  Western  science  has 
been  for  many  years  profoundly  ignorant. 

But  this  is  a  digression.  The  phenomenon  has  often  been 
reproduced  even  in  the  unilluminated  Occident.  It  is  often 
caused  by  nervous  prostration,  and  it  can  be  produced  by 
hypnotism,  or  by  hasheesh,  or  by  any  of  the  processes 
usually  employed  in  the  induction  of  the  subjective  condi¬ 
tion  ;  and,  as  in  all  other  psychic  states,  the  visions  beheld, 
or  the  impressions  experienced,  are  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  suggestions  which  dominate  the  mind  of  the  subject 
when  he  enters  the  state.  If  there  is  no  specific  suggestion 
made,  the  topic  upon  which  the  subject  will  be  “  illumi¬ 
nated  ”  will  be  determined  by  the  dominant  characteristics 
of  his  mind.  Thus,  an  inventor  will  feel  that  he  has  attained 
the  power  of  perception  of  all  mechanical  laws  and  forces, 
and  that  all  problems  of  invention  are  as  a  b  c  to  him  ; 
the  mathematician  will  feel  that  he  is  in  possession  of  all 
the  laws  of  numbers,  and  that  any  and  all  problems  are 
easy  of  solution  by  his  “  illuminated  ”  intelligence ;  the 
musician  will  experience  the  feeling  that  he  is  in  an  atmos¬ 
phere  of  musical  sounds,  and  that  the  most  delightful  har¬ 
monies  await  his  volition ;  and  so  on  through  the  whole 
repertoire  of  human  accomplishments  and  objects  of  earthly 
ambition.  Again,  if  the  suggestion  is  made  that  the  ecstatic 
1  S«e  Carpenter’s  “From  Adam’s  Peak  to  Elephanta,”  p.  1 86. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


1 8 1 


shall  visit  the  spirit  land,  —  the  abode  of  the  blest  or  the 
dungeon  of  the  damned,  —  he  will,  with  equal  facility,  visit 
either  place,  and  his  account  of  his  visions  will  be  the  exact 
reproduction  of  his  preconceived  opinions  (auto-sugges¬ 
tions)  on  those  subjects. 

But  here  is  the  peculiarity  which  attends  the  visions  and 
impressions  of  a  certain  class  of  ecstatics  the  world  over. 
When  they  enter  that  state  with  the  dominant  idea  that 
they  are  going  to  come  into  contact  with  Omniscience  and 
merge  their  intelligence,  as  it  were,  with  that  of  the  Deity, 
they  have  no  specific  idea  of  what  they  are  about  to  see,  to 
experience,  or  to  learn.  Their  only  suggestion  is  a  general 
one  to  the  effect  that  they  are  about  to  come  into  intimate  and 
loving  contact  with  the  All-Knowing  One ;  and  that,  guided 
by  the  very  Spirit  of  Truth,  they  will  be  able  to  obtain  in¬ 
stant  possession  of  all  knowledge.  The  result  is  always  the 
same,  from  the  Oriental  ecstatic  down  to  the  humblest 
hypnotic  subject.  They  experience  a  sensation  which  is 
described  to  be  to  the  last  degree  pleasurable  and  exhilarat¬ 
ing,  —  a  feeling  that  they  have  been  suddenly  released  from 
th'e  trammels  of  the  flesh,  that  they  are  “  emancipated  ” 
and  “  illuminated,”  and  that  they  are  in  possession  of  all 
truth  and  all  power  and  dominion.  But  that  is  the  sum 
total  of  their  revelations.  No  one  has  ever  been  able  to 
wring  from  them  the  smallest  modicum  of  that  vast  store  of 
cosmic  intelligence  of  which  they  have  so  suddenly  become 
the  custodians.  One  amiable  old  gentleman,  known  to  the 
writer,  has  become  so  full  of  enthusiasm  over  his  own  ex¬ 
perience  in  the  ecstatic  condition  that,  realizing  the  hope¬ 
lessness  of  any  attempt  to  convey  by  words  the  remotest 
idea  of  the  “  great  truths  ”  of  which  he  has  become  the 
depositary,  he  has  started  in  to  reform  the  world  by  induc¬ 
ing  others  to  enter  the  ecstatic  condition,  so  that  each  for 
himself  may  acquire  possession  of  that  vast  fund  of  unspeak¬ 
able  information  which  belongs  alone  to  the  “  illuminated.” 


i82 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


“  It  cannot  be  conveyed  in  words,”  is  the  reply  of  the 
average  Occidental  ecstatic  when  pressed  for  an  account  of 
his  experience.  The  Oriental  wraps  himself  in  his  mantle 
of  mysticism,  and  refuses  to  reveal  the  awful  mysteries  which 
have  been  confided  to  his  care  ;  but  boasts  of  his  vast  store¬ 
house  of  “  scientific  ”  knowledge,  and  looks  with  contempt 
upon  the  frivolities  of  material  science  in  the  Occident. 
Saint  Paul’s  ecstatic  evidently  had  the  experience  and  was 
hedged  about  by  the  same  limitations.  During  his  visit  to 
paradise  he  “  heard  unspeakable  words  which  it  is  not  law¬ 
ful  for  a  man  to  utter,”  says  Paul;  and  it  must  be  admitted 
by  the  most  sceptical  that  this  was  a  double  restriction  not 
easy  to  evade  or  overcome. 

Well  may  Paul  have  been  in  doubt  as  to  whether  the  man 
“  was  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body”  when  he  was  in  that 
profound  trance  condition  which  often  simulates  death,  and 
which  is  the  condition  necessary  for  the  production  of  the 
phenomena  of  ecstasis.  His  doubt  must  have  referred  to 
the  man’s  physical  condition,  and  not  to  any  question  of  the 
corporeal  existence  of  the  man  himself ;  for  Paul  explicitly 
states  that  he  knew  the  man. 

I  have  discussed  this  matter  at  greater  length,  perhaps, 
than  was  necessary ;  but  this  passage  has  been  so  often 
tortured  into  the  service  of  spiritism  that  I  have  deemed  it 
expedient  to  classify  the  fact  in  accordance  with  the  views 
of  modern  experimental  psychology,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  relieve  Paul  from  the  charge  of  inconsistency,  in  view  of 
his  explicit  declaration  that  the  alleged  spiritistic  phe¬ 
nomena  then  prevalent  in  the  Church  were  neither  more 
nor  less  than  manifestations  of  one  and  the  same  Spirit ; 
namely,  the  spirit  of  God. 

Besides,  I  deemed  it  important  to  show  that  Paul,  the 
most  learned  and  philosophic  of  the  Apostles,  was  not 
tinctured  with  the  then  prevalent  beliefs  ;  and  that  John, 
the  most  intimate  personal  friend  and  companion  of  Jesus, 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


183 


was  also  free  from  the  prevailing  delusion.  The  importance 
of  these  facts  is  seen  from  the  inference,  which  is  irresisti¬ 
ble,  that,  if  Jesus  had  deemed  it  possible  for  disembodied 
spirits  to  communicate  with  the  living,  his  views  would 
have  been  reflected  in  the  teachings  of  those  Apostles. 
The  fact  that  neither  Jesus  himself  nor  John,  his  friend,  nor 
Paul,  the  most  learned  exponent  of  his  philosophy,  nor 
indeed  any  of  his  Apostles,  ever  intimated  a  belief  in  spirit¬ 
ism,  is  conclusive  against  the  hypothesis  that  the  Founder 
of  Christianity  regarded  spirit  intercourse  with  the  living  as 
a  possible  factor  in  the  science  of  the  soul. 

Nevertheless  the  fact  remains  that  the  phenomena  of  so- 
called  spiritism  constituted  one  of  the  salient  features  of 
primitive  Christianity.  And  it  is  no  discredit  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion  to  say  that  these  phenomena  constituted  one 
of  the  most  potent  agencies  employed  for  its  promulgation. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  Christian  Church 
could  have  long  survived  as  an  organic  institution  in  that 
day  and  age  of  the  world,  had  it  not  been  for  the  signs  and 
wonders  which  were  afforded  by  the  various  forms  of 
psychic  phenomena  which  were  then  prevalent.  Jesus  him¬ 
self  recognized  the  necessity  for  thus  satisfying  the  popular 
demand  for  evidences  of  his  authority  and  his  divine  mis¬ 
sion.  It  is  true  that  he  produced  none  outside  of  a  clearly 
defined  limit ;  and  that  limit  was  defined  by  the  spirit  of 
altruism  regnant  in  his  soul.  His  miracles  were  all  wrought 
for  the  benefit  of  humanity,  —  for  human  enlightenment  or 
for  the  relief  of  human  suffering.  Their  effect  as  evidences 
of  his  divine  mission  was  of  secondary  importance  to  him. 
He  did  nothing  for  display,  nothing  for  glory,  nothing  for 
emolument,  nothing  even  to  convince  the  sceptical  of  the 
truth  of  his  doctrine,  unless  he  could  at  the  same  time  con¬ 
fer  a  benefit  upon  suffering  humanity.  He  enjoined  upon 
his  followers  the  duty  to  heal  the  sick,  and  left  his  example 
as  a  sacred  heritage  to  all  who  should  come  after  him. 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


184 

During  the  first  few  hundred  years  of  the  Christian  dispen¬ 
sation  his  injunctions  were  faithfully  observed.  But  the 
power  to  heal  the  sick  implied  the  power  to  produce  other 
phenomena ;  that  is  to  say,  the  psychical  condition  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  production  of  other  phenomena  were  necessarily 
induced  by  the  training  required  for  the  acquisition  of  the 
power  to  heal  the  sick.  The  result  was  that  other  phe¬ 
nomena  were  produced.  It  is  superfluous  to  say  that  the 
same  laws  that  prevail  to-day  governed  the  production  of 
psychic  phenomena  in  that  day.  The  law  of  suggestion 
exerted  its  subtle  influence  then  as  now.  Consequently  the 
same  facilities  for  self-deception  on  the  part  of  the  psychic 
existed  in  the  Church  of  that  day  as  exist  in  the  spiritistic 
circles  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  conditions  were  the 
same.  The  phenomena  were  identical.  The  same  tests 
were  applied  with  the  same  wonderful  results.  The  phe¬ 
nomena,  under  the  subtle  influence  of  the  law  of  suggestion, 
lent  itself  to  the  confirmation  of  every  belief,  just  as  it  does 
in  the  spiritistic  stances  to-day.  The  necessary  result  was 
that  the  psychics  of  the  Church,  being  dominated  by  the 
suggestions  embraced  in  the  Christian  faith,  confirmed  the 
beliefs  of  the  Church. 

It  is  easy  to  see  what  a  powerful  proselyting  engine  was 
at  the  command  of  the  primitive  Church,  and  to  account 
for  the  zeal  and  success  of  that  simple-minded  people.  Says 
Mosheim,  — 

“  It  is  easier  to  conceive  than  to  express  how  much  the 
miraculous  powers  and  the  extraordinary  divine  gifts  which 
the  early  Christians  exercised  on  various  occasions,  contributed 
to  extend  the  limits  of  the  Church.” 

Possessed  of  such  “  divine  gifts  ”  emanating  from  a  source 
which  they  could  but  regard  as  supernatural,  in  constant 
communication  with  beings  whom  they  could  but  regard  as 
disembodied  spirits,  frequently  beholding  visions  of  a  sub¬ 
lime  figure  which  they  could  but  believe  to  be  that  of  the 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


185 


Divine  Master  himself,  every  phenomenon  confirming  and 
emphasizing  the  central  idea  of  their  faith,  it  would  have 
been  a  miracle  indeed  if  the  Church  had  not  flourished  and 
become  a  moral  force  in  the  world,  potent,  aggressive,  irre¬ 
sistible.  And  such  we  find  it  to  have  been ;  for  their  mis¬ 
sionaries,  in  spite  of  pagan  persecution,  were  soon  thunder¬ 
ing  at  the  gates  of  Rome,  Alexandria,  and  Constantinople. 
The  result  was  that  in  the  short  space  of  three  hundred 
years  they  had  become  so  powerful  and  influential  that 
Constantine  thought  it  worth  while  to  become  converted  to 
Christianity,  to  the  end  that  he  might  establish  himself 
as  Emperor  and  convert  Christianity  into  a  state  religion. 

With  that  event  ended  the  golden  days  of  primitive  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Evolution  had  turned  her  face  to  the  rear.  The 
pure  and  simple  doctrines  of  Jesus  were  forgotten.  His 
text  of  discipleship  —  “that  ye  love  one  another”  —  was 
discarded.  "Thenceforth  Christianity  was  largely  a  thing  of 
creed  and  dogma.  The  Church  was  given  over  to  the  con¬ 
trol  of  an  organized  priesthood  who  acknowledged  alle¬ 
giance  only  to  the  State.  Private  opinion  became  a  public 
crime.  The  reign  of  love  which  Jesus  inaugurated  was 
transformed  into  a  reign  of  terror ;  and  for  more  than  a 
thousand  years  the  pathway  of  the  Church  was  illuminated 
by  the  fagot  and  defined  by  human  blood. 

Obviously  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  trace 
the  true  history  of  psychic  phenomena  through  that  period. 
The  heritage  which  Jesus  had  bequeathed  to  all  his  disci¬ 
ples  had  been  seized  by  the  priesthood  and  made  to  sub¬ 
serve  its  interests  and  to  promote  its  power.  That  history, 
therefore,  was  in  the  keeping  of  those  whose  interest  it  was 
to  deepen  its  mysteries,  to  the  end  that  the  people  might 
be  kept  in  ignorance  of  its  source.  That  the  priesthood 
have  been,  from  time  immemorial,  in  possession  of  the 
power  to  produce  most  wonderful  psychic  phenomena,  is 
well  known  in  the  inner  circles  of  the  Church.  That  they 


1 86  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

are  not  entirely  ignorant  of  its  true  source,  is  apparent.  It 
is  a  part  of  esoteric  Romanism. 

These  remarks  are  not  made  in  any  spirit  of  censure ; 
for  if  the  Church  has  ever  done  one  thing  more  praise¬ 
worthy  than  another,  it  was  when  it  inhibited  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  spiritistic  phenomena  by  the  common  people.  No 
matter  what  secret  motives  may  have  actuated  the  priest¬ 
hood  in  confining  the  production  of  psychic  phenomena  to 
that  order,  the  fact  remains  that  if  the  common  people  had 
not  been  prohibited  from  the  indiscriminate  production  of 
psychic  phenomena,  it  would  have  utterly  demoralized  the 
Christian  Church,  and  rendered  it  a  very  cesspool  of  vice 
and  immorality.  No  one  who  has  investigated  the  subject 
needs  to  be  told  how  demoralizing  to  soul  and  body  is  the 
production  of  spiritistic  phenomena,  even  in  this  enlight¬ 
ened  age,  especially  where  the  medium  is  ignorant  of  its 
true  source,  and  ascribes  it  to  supermundane  agency.  How 
much  more  terrible  would  have  been  the  results  in  an 
age  of  universal  ignorance  and  superstition,  can  only  be 
conjectured.  In  the  early  days  of  the  Christian  Church 
learning  was  confined  largely  to  the  priesthood ;  and  it 
is  doubtless  true  that  they  early  discovered  the  vicious 
tendency  of  such  practices,  and  felt  compelled  to  interfere, 
in  the  interest  of  morality,  and  to  prohibit  the  indiscriminate 
production  of  psychic  phenomena  by  the  ignorant  laity. 
It  is  also  doubtless  true,  as  before  remarked,  that  the 
priesthood  understood  something  of  the  true  nature  of 
psychic  phenomena ;  and  that  they  should  employ  it  occa¬ 
sionally  for  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  their  order, 
was  inevitable.  The  people  of  their  day  were  seeking  for 
“signs  and  wonders”  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Jesus, 
and  the  priesthood  had  before  them  the  example  of  the 
Master  in  withholding  from  the  laity  the  esoteric  knowl¬ 
edge  which  they  were  prepared  neither  to  receive  nor  to 
appreciate. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


I87 

Thus  it  appears  manifest,  not  only  that  it  was  through 
psychic  phenomena  that  the  Christian  religion  was  evolved, 
but  that  it  was  largely  through  psychic  phenomena  that 
the  Christian  Church  was  enabled  to  establish  itself  on  a 
firm  basis  within  the  three  hundred  years  succeeding  the 
crucifixion  of  its  founder.  It  matters  not  that  these  psychic 
phenomena  were  misunderstood ;  nor  is  it  any  discredit  to 
Christianity  that  in  an  age  of  intellectual  darkness,  before 
science  threw  its  first  glimmering  rays  of  light  upon  the 
intellectual  horizon,  the  Christian  religion  was  thus  pro¬ 
moted.  Jesus  did  not  misunderstand  the  phenomena  of 
the  soul,  nor  is  he  to  blame  because  his  followers  mistook 
the  import  of  phenomena  which  he  did  not  produce  and 
to  which  he  did  not  give  his  sanction.  As  well  might  we 
discredit  astronomy  because  it  had  its  origin  in  astrology, 
or  chemistry  because  it  was  preceded  by  alchemy,  or  im¬ 
pugn  the  wisdom  of  the  Almighty  because  the  Psalmist  was 
ignorant  of  the  Copernican  system  when  he  exclaimed, 
“The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firma¬ 
ment  showeth  his  handiwork.”  The  grand  procession  of 
the  planets  around  the  sun  constitutes  the  phenomena  of 
the  solar  system.  These  phenomena  are  the  facts  of  astron¬ 
omy  ;  and  they  are  none  the  less  so  because  they  have  been 
misunderstood.  They  were  observed  and  studied  alike  by 
the  ignorant  and  the  wise  until  the  truth  was  evolved. 
The  Psalmist  doubtless  regarded  the  earth  as  the  centre 
of  the  universe ;  but  the  discoveries  of  Kepler  and  of 
Newton  have  neither  diminished  the  force  nor  discredited 
the  truth  of  the  sublime  words  of  the  sweet  singer  of 
Israel. 

In  like  manner  psychic  phenomena  —  the  facts  of  the 
science  of  the  soul  —  have  been  observed  from  time  im¬ 
memorial,  and  must  still  continue  to  be  observed  and 
studied  until  the  true  science  of  the  soul  is  evolved.  When 
this  is  accomplished,  it  will  be  found  that  the  truths  of 


1 88  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 

Christianity  will  be  none  the  less  clearly  recognizable 
because  psychic  phenomena  have  been,  in  times  past, 
most  grossly  misinterpreted.  On  the  contrary,  as  every 
truth  illuminates  every  other  truth  to  which  it  is  related, 
the  truths  which  Jesus  taught  must  find  a  new  illustration 
in  every  fresh  discovery  in  the  science  of  the  soul. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MODERN  PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA. 


Mesmerism.  — Telepathy  demonstrated  by  the  Followers  of  Mesmer. 
—  Braid’s  Discovery.  —  Hypnotism.  —  Discovery  of  the  Law  of 
Suggestion.  —  Clairvoyance.  —  The  Rochester  Knockings.  —  Mes¬ 
meric  Subjects  and  Mediums.  —  Spiritism  as  a  Step  in  the  Process 
of  Evolution.  —  Its  Effect. 

7E  now  approach  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  psychic 
'  ’  phenomena  of  the  most  transcendent  interest  and 
imminent  importance.  Hitherto  we  have  dealt  with  phe¬ 
nomena  so  obscured  by  the  twilight  of  tradition  and  imperfect 
history  that  only  the  faint  outlines  or  the  most  salient 
features  have  been  discernible.  We  shall,  however,  be 
compensated  for  this  lack  of  clearness  in  the  ancient 
phenomena  by  turning  upon  it  the  calcium  light  of  modern 
experience  ;  for  we  now  enter  the  domain  of  demonstrable 
facts  which  have  been  incorporated  into  the  great  body  of 
modern  science  ;  namely,  the  scientifically  verified  facts  of 
experimental  psychology. 

When  Anton  Mesmer  first  demonstrated  to  the  world  that 
by  certain  mysterious  manipulations  persons  can  be  thrown 
into  a  condition  of  trance,  during  which  the  objective  senses 
are  held  in  more  or  less  complete  abeyance,  and  that  at 
the  same  time  the  functions  of  the  body  can  be  modified, 
pain  suppressed,  fever  calmed,  and  disease  removed,  he 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  true  science  of  the  human  soul. 
Not  that  he  obtained  more  than  a  glimpse  into  the  promised 
land,  or  that  he  had  the  remotest  idea  of  the  grand  results 


190  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

which  were  to  follow ;  but  he  was  the  first,  in  modern  times, 
to  point  out  one  mean  through  which  the  soul  can  be 
experimentally  studied.  For  him  the  only  field  of  useful¬ 
ness  for  the  newly  discovered  power  was  that  of  therapeutics ; 
and  it  was  not  till  he  had  been  driven  by  professional 
jealousy  into  dishonored  exile  that  his  followers  so  far 
extended  his  discoveries  as  to  open  the  way  for  the  study  of 
the  whole  field  of  experimental  psychology.  The  Marquis 
de  Puysegur,  a  philanthropist,  a  scientist,  and  a  man  of 
fearless  integrity,  in  utter  disregard  of  the  sentence  of  pro¬ 
fessional  and  social  ostracism  pronounced  by  the  medical 
profession  of  his  day  upon  all  who  presumed  to  investigate 
the  subject  of  mesmerism,  extended  the  experiments  of 
Mesmer,  and  was  the  first  to  develop  experimentally  the 
phenomenon  of  telepathy.  He  was  followed  by  many 
others,  of  more  or  less  scientific  prominence,  who  confirmed 
his  experiments,  among  whom  were  Esdaile,  Elliotson, 
Deleuze,  Baron  Dupotet,  and  many  others  of  lesser  note. 
The  result  was  that  a  series  of  most  wonderful  psychic 
phenomena  were  produced  and  verified  with  scientific 
exactitude.  The  ultra-scientists,  however,  continued  to 
cast  ridicule  upon  the  phenomena,  and  to  persecute  and  to 
drive  to  ruin  every  scientist  who  dared  to  make  an  honest 
experiment.  This  continued  until  1840,  when  Dr.  Braid,  a 
Manchester  physician,  announced  that  he  had  discovered 
that  a  condition  cognate  to  that  produced  by  Mesmer  could 
be  induced  by  causing  the  subject  to  gaze  steadily  upon  a 
bright  object  held  in  front  of  and  slightly  above  the  eyes. 
This  he  denominated  “  hypnotism  ;  ”  and  the  name  has  since 
been  retained  and  applied  to  all  the  varied  phases  of 
induced  subjective  phenomena,  although  it  strictly  applies 
to  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  them.  His  work,  however, 
attracted  very  little  immediate  attention  in  his  own  country, 
and  it  was  not  until  Li£bault  confirmed  and  extended  the 
experiments  of  Braid  that  hypnotism  was  admitted  within 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  ig I 

the  domain  of  the  exact  sciences.  Li£bault  was  followed 
by  a  host  of  others,  so  that  within  the  last  twenty  years,  or 
less,  hypnotism  has  come  to  be  acknowledged  as  a  science 
of  the  most  transcendant  interest  and  importance,  not  alone 
in  its  aspects  as  a  therapeutic  agent,  but  as  the  handmaiden, 
par  excellence,  of  experimental  psychology. 

It  is  to  Ltebault,  however,  that  the  world  is  indebted  for 
the  greatest  discovery  ever  made  in  the  science  of  hypnotism  ; 
namely,  the  law  of  “  suggestion.”  This  law,  reduced  to 
its  simplest  terms,  is  that  “  persons  in  an  hypnotic  condition 
are  constantly  amenable  to  control  by  suggestion.”  I  am 
aware  that  the  credit  of  this  discovery  has  been  claimed  for 
Braid ;  but,  nevertheless,  Li^bault  first  formulated  the  law, 
and  it  is  to  the  one  who  has  the  capacity  to  grasp  the 
universality  of  a  law,  and  definitely  to  formulate  it,  that 
credit  is  due  for  the  discovery.  Many  others  had  noted  the 
effect  of  suggestion  in  particular  cases,  and  had  thus  counted 
it  as  a  possible  factor  in  hypnotism.  Paracelsus,  in  the  six¬ 
teenth  century,  noted  it  as  an  important  factor  in  psycho¬ 
therapeutics  ;  but  he  was  no  more  entitled  to  the  credit  of  its 
discovery  than  were  the  predecessors  of  Newton,  who  talked 
learnedly  of  gravitation  but  died  before  its  fundamental  law 
was  formulated,  entitled  to  the  credit  due  to  the  author  of 
the  “  Principia.”  It  is  true  that  Liebault  confined  his  formula 
to  the  phenomena  of  experimental  hypnotism,  and  it  was 
left  for  later  investigators  to  discover  that  the  law  was  the 
universal  and  dominating  factor  in  all  the  multiform  phases 
of  psychic  phenomena.  But  until  Ltebault’s  discovery 
was  definitely  formulated,  hypnotism  was  not,  nor  could 
it  be,  entitled  to  admission  into  the  circle  of  the  exact 
sciences.  That  discovery,  therefore,  constituted  the  first 
great  step  in  the  evolution  of  the  science  of  the  soul; 
for  it  is  by  hypnotism  and  cognate  phenomena  alone 
that  the  fact  that  man  has  a  soul  can  be  scientifically 
demonstrated. 


192 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


la  the  mean  time,  before  the  discoveries  of  Braid  and  of 
Ltebault,  mesmerism  had  fallen  largely  into  the  hands  of 
ignorant  charlatans,  who  travelled  throughout  every  civilized 
country,  lecturing  and  giving  exhibitions  of  the  phenomena  to 
gaping  crowds,  who  were  neither  more  nor  less  capable  than 
were  the  exhibitors  themselves  of  appreciating  the  real  signifi¬ 
cance  of  the  exhibitions.  By  this  means  mesmeric  subjects 
were  indefinitely  multiplied  until  every  little  hamlet  in 
Christendom  could  boast  of  its  “  seers  ”  and  its  “  prophets.” 
“  Clairvoyance  ”  became  a  word  of  portentous  import,  and 
was  soon  employed  as  a  generic  term  for  every  manifestation 
of  perception  not  directly  traceable  to  sensorial  experience. 
Many  notable  phenomena  were  produced,  and  books  de¬ 
scribing  them  multiplied.  All  were,  of  course,  derided  by 
the  “  scientists ;  ”  the  lecturers  themselves  were  branded  as 
“  mountebanks,”  and  the  “  subjects,”  who  were  taken  largely 
from  the  ranks  of  the  school  children,  were  denounced  as 
“  frauds,”  “  humbugs,”  and  “swindlers.”  Among  the  books 
which  appeared,  many  were  written  in  a  purely  scientific 
tone  and  spirit,  and  described  the  experiments  with  great 
minuteness  and  exactness,  and  detailed  the  tests  applied 
and  the  safeguards  employed  with  true  scientific  caution 
and  transparent  honesty  of  purpose.  It  is  a  curious  and  an 
intensely  interesting  study  to  go  over  those  old  “  volumes  of 
forgotten  lore,”  rescued  from  the  top  shelves  of  second¬ 
hand  bookstores,  and  to  compare  the  experiments  therein 
detailed  with  those  of  the  scientists  of  to-day.  Such  a 
study  reveals  many  thoroughly  authenticated  facts  of  great 
scientific  value  in  the  study  of  experimental  psychology,  the 
only  defect  being  that  the  law  of  suggestion  had  not  yet 
been  formulated.  Nevertheless,  in  very  many  cases,  that 
factor  was  as  intelligently  eliminated  as  it  has  ever  been  by 
later  scientists  who  are  in  full  possession  of  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  its  potency  and  universality.  In  point  of  fact, 
there  are  few  phenomena  of  importance  produced  by  the 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  1 93 

later  scientists  which  have  not  their  counterpart  in  the  old 
records  of  pre-spiritistic  mesmerism. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  pause  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  remarking  that  up  to  a  certain  date  no  one  ever 
dreamed  of  ascribing  to  supermundane  agency  any  of  the 
phenomena  of  mesmerism.  Many  phenomena  were  pro¬ 
duced  which  have  since  found  a  ready  solution  in  the 
hypothesis  of  spirit  intercourse ;  but  at  the  time  of  their 
production  it  was  not  found  necessary  to  presuppose  any 
other  agency  than  that  of  some  inherent,  though  newly 
discovered,  power  of  the  living  subject.  In  other  words, 
it  was  not  regarded  as  necessary  for  a  man  to  be  dead 
before  he  could  develop  the  powers  evoked  by  mesmer¬ 
ism.  Such  an  hypothesis  had  not  yet  been  “  suggested.” 

This  state  of  affairs,  however,  was  destined  to  a  somewhat 
sudden  termination.  The  Rochester  knockings  had  com¬ 
menced.  At  first  ascribed  to  trickery,  investigation  proved 
that  they  could  not  be  traced  to  any  known  physical  agency. 
The  sounds  were  startling,  mysterious,  uncanny,  and  to  none 
more  so  than  to  those  to  whose  unconscious  agency  they 
were  afterwards  traced.  To  the  minds  of  the  local  savants 
the  most  obvious  solution  was  the  supernatural.  This  idea 
once  suggested,  a  test  was  easy.  A  code  of  signals  was 
improvised,  and  the  raps  were  questioned.  An  intelligence 
was  found  to  be  behind  the  mysterious  sounds.  On  cross- 
examination,  that  intelligence  freely  admitted  itself  to  be 
none  other  than  that  of  a  disembodied  spirit ;  and  the  raps 
first  made  upon  the  walls  of  the  humble  residence  of  the 
Fox  sisters  were  heard  around  the  world. 

A  new  era  in  psychic  phenomena  had  been  inaugurated. 
In  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  “  mediums  ”  of  com¬ 
munication  with  the  inhabitants  of  another  sphere  were 
found  all  over  the  civilized  world.  Mesmerism  was  for¬ 
gotten.  But  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  it  had  unwittingly 
provided  an  abundant  supply  of  the  raw  material  for 

13 


194 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


“  mediums  j  ”  for  every  successful  mesmeric  subject  was 
found  to  be  already  developed  for  successful  mediumship. 
The  phenomena  of  “  clairvoyance  ”  no  longer  possessed 
their  former  significance.  What  was,  under  mesmerism, 
the  development  of  an  inherent  power  of  the  mind  of  the 
subject,  under  spiritism  was  a  message  from  some  denizen 
of  another  world.  If  any  doubt  existed  upon  that  point, 
it  was  speedily  set  at  rest  by  the  simple  process  of  question¬ 
ing  the  intelligence  itself.  When  asked  if  it  was  a  spirit,  the 
answer  was,  “  Yes.”  When  asked  if  it  was  the  spirit  of  John 
Smith,  the  answer  was  “  Yes  ;  ”  and  the  same  answer  would 
be  returned  if  the  identity  of  the  spirit  of  Socrates  was 
sought.  In  other  words,  it  was  just  as  easy  successfully  to 
invoke  the  shade  of  Socrates  as  it  was  to  call  up  John 
Smith,  notwithstanding  the  disparity  in  numbers. 

The  law  of  suggestion  had  not  been  discovered  ;  and  the 
fact  of  duality  of  consciousness  existed  in  the  popular  mind 
only  as  a  Platonic  reminiscence. 

But  this  is  not  the  proper  place  to  discuss  the  errors  of 
spiritism.  It  is  sufficient  for  present  purposes  to  note  that 
the  appearance  of  spiritism,  coming  as  it  did  upon  the  world 
of  human  thought  and  experience  simultaneously  with  mes¬ 
merism,  seems  not  only  opportune,  but  almost  providential. 
Together  they  constitute  the  great  body  of  the  psychic  phe¬ 
nomena  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  neither  would  have 
been  complete  without  the  other.  In  spiritism  we  have  a 
vast  series  of  phenomena,  and  in  mesmerism  and  hypnotism 
we  have  a  means  of  scientifically  studying  it  and  thus  profit¬ 
ing  by  the  lessons  which  it  teaches.  If  this  is  done  in  a 
calm  and  dispassionate  spirit,  we  may  rest  assured  that 
what  we  shall  learn  will  be  for  the  highest  good  of  the 
human  race.  We  shall  at  least  find  that  when  we  look 
upon  it  as  a  necessary  part  of  the  grand  system  of  evolu¬ 
tion  of  the  human  mind,  it  is  a  factor  of  inestimable  value 
and  significance.  Viewed  as  a  factor  in  the  evolution  of  the 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


195 


spiritual  man,  it  has  been  of  transcendent  value  to  mankind. 
It  matters  not  that  its  phenomena  have  been  grossly  misin¬ 
terpreted.  It  was  impossible  to  avoid  a  misunderstanding 
of  it  in  the  absence  of  the  knowledge  which  modern  scien¬ 
tific  investigation  has  revealed  within  the  last  decade.  It 
would  have  been  a  miracle  if  it  had  not  been  accepted  for 
all  that  it  purported  to  be,  in  the  absence  of  any  other 
rational  explanation  than  that  afforded  by  a  wholesale 
denial  of  its  phenomena.  Its  adherents  had  daily  ocular 
demonstration  of  the  genuineness  of  its  phenomena,  which 
could  not  be  offset  by  a  priori  denials  from  those  who 
refused  to  investigate.  Moreover,  the  intelligence  behind 
the  manifestations  claimed  to  be  that  of  loved  ones  who  had 
gone  before ;  and  in  the  then  state  of  human  knowledge 
there  was  no  means  of  successfully  disproving  the  statement. 
Besides,  it  was  a  statement  that  millions  of  stricken  hearts 
dreaded  to  have  disproved.  To  many  it  constituted  the 
last  ray  of  hope  of  a  life  beyond  the  grave,  and  of  a 
reunion  with  the  loved  and  lost. 

It  does  not  always  follow  that  the  mistakes  of  humanity 
are  productive  of  unmitigated  evil.  We  have  already  seen 
how,  in  times  past,  the  most  grossly  misinterpreted  psychic 
phenomena  led,  by  the  slow  but  sure  steps  of  evolution,  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  ;  a.nd  how  the  propagation  of 
the  true  religion  was  promoted  by  the  same  means.  Spirit¬ 
ism  has  also  served  a  noble  purpose  in  that  it  has  stayed 
the  wave  of  materialism  which  swept  like  a  cyclone  over 
the  civilized  world  upon  the  announcement  of  the  doctrine 
of  organic  evolution.  Millions  of  the  human  family  who 
could  not  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  doctrine  of  evolution 
does  not  touch  the  question  of  true  religion  and  leaves  the 
problem  of  immortality  just  where  it  found  it,  have  derived 
consolation  from  what  they  regard  as  demonstrative  evidence 
of  a  life  beyond  the  grave. 

In  making  the  foregoing  remarks,  I  have  not  taken  into 


196  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

account  any  of  the  vagaries  of  spiritism.  I  have  not  con¬ 
sidered  the  evils  to  which  it  has  given  rise,  the  gross  immo¬ 
ralities  which  some  of  its  votaries  teach  both  by  precept 
and  example,  nor  the  absurdities  into  which  many  of  its 
followers  have  been  led.  When  a  law  of  Nature  is  mis¬ 
understood,  there  is  inevitable  danger  to  those  who  rashly 
place  themselves  within  its  reach.  This  is  just  as  true 
of  the  laws  of  mind  as  it  is  of  the  laws  of  matter.  The  law 
which,  rightly  understood,  is  the  most  beneficent,  may 
become  an  engine  of  destruction  to  those  who  ignorantly 
place  themselves  in  wrong  relations  to  it. 

What  I  have  here  said  of  spiritism,  therefore,  must  be 
considered  as  having  reference  to  its  aggregate  effect  upon 
the  human  family.  In  this  respect  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that,  as  a  whole,  it  has  been  beneficent.  But,  tak¬ 
ing  a  still  broader  view  of  the  subject,  it  must  be  said  that 
its  manifestations  are  a  necessary  and  an  indispensable  part 
of  the  grand  aggregate  of  psychic  phenomena,  through 
which  alone  man  is  at  last  enabled  to  study  the  science  of 
the  soul.  Not  that  it  teaches  us  just  what  is  in  store  for 
man  in  a  future  state  of  existence,  for,  in  the  language  of 
the  Beloved  Disciple,  “  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we 
shall  be ;  ”  but  it  teaches  us  what  man  is.  Not  that  we 
shall  ever  be  able  to  enter  into  communication  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  spirit  world,  and  thus  learn  more  than 
Jesus  revealed  to  us ;  but  we  may  learn  by  induction  some¬ 
thing  of  what  he  knew  by  intuition ;  and  we  may,  per¬ 
chance,  learn  enough  of  the  laws  of  the  soul  to  be  able  to 
postulate  immortality  with  some  degree  of  scientific  cer¬ 
tainty.  If  this  should  prove  to  be  the  outcome  of  spiritistic 
phenomena,  all  will  agree  that  it  has  not  been  produced  in 
vain ;  even  though,  by  the  same  process  of  reasoning,  it 
should  be  demonstrated  that  spirits  of  the  dead  do  not 
communicate  with  the  living,  and  although  the  whole  super¬ 
structure  of  spiritistic  philosophy,  based  upon  the  assump¬ 
tion  of  spirit  communion,  should  be  demolished. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


197 


It  seems  to  me  that  I  am  warranted  in  saying  that 
enough  of  thoroughly  verified  facts  have  already  accumu¬ 
lated  to  enable  us  to  successfully  apply  the  processes  of 
induction  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  a  future  life. 
The  facts  of  mesmerism ;  the  facts  of  hypnotism,  as  devel¬ 
oped  by  the  scientific  investigators  of  Europe  and  America  ; 
the  vast  array  of  scientifically  verified  facts  presented  in 
the  reports  of  the  London  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 
together  with  the  rich  store  of  facts  presented  in  the  phe¬ 
nomena  of  spiritism,  —  constitute  the  material  from  which  it 
is  hoped  to  learn  something,  not  only  of  what  man  is,  but 
of  the  fate  to  which  he  is  destined. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HAS  MAN  A  SOUL? 


Intuitive  Perceptions  of  the  Existence  of  a  Soul  in  Man.  —  Plato’s 
Philosophy.  —  The  Doctrine  of  Body,  Soul,  and  Spirit.  —  The 
Doctrine  of  Jesus.  —  Modern  Scientific  Scepticism.  —  Require¬ 
ments  of  Modern  Science.  —  The  Dual  Hypothesis.  —  The  Phe¬ 
nomena  of  Dreams. — The  Objective  and  Subjective  Mental  States 
differentiated.  —  Limitations  of  Powers  of  Reasoning  in  the  Sub¬ 
jective  Mind.  —  Its  Perfect  Power  of  Deduction.  —  Telepathy  and 
Prevision. 

IT  has  thus  far  been  provisionally  assumed  that  man  has 
*■  a  soul.  But,  before  proceeding  to  formulate  a  scien¬ 
tific  argument  demonstrative  of  the  soul’s  immortality,  it  is 
logically  necessary  to  demonstrate  the  verity  of  the  pro¬ 
visional  assumption.  Materialistic  science  will  certainly  be 
satisfied  with  nothing  less ;  for  it  is  at  this  point  that  it 
invariably  calls  a  halt,  and  reminds  us  that  the  primary  rule 
of  logic  demands  that  our  premises  be  not  assumed. 

In  discussing  this  branch  of  the  subject  in  a  work  like 
this,  the  reader  must  be  presumed  to  be  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  current  literature  relating  to  the  psychic  phenom¬ 
ena  of  the  nineteenth  century,  especially  with  that  which 
deals  with  the  scientific  aspects  of  the  various  questions 
involved.  It  is  obviously  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  a 
single  volume,  to  present  documentary  evidence  of  the 
verity  of  every  statement  that  must  be  made.  Therefore 
results  only  can  be  stated ;  but  the  reader  may  rest 
assured  that  I  shall  not  attempt  to  lead  him  outside  the 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  199 

realm  of  scientifically  verified  facts,  which  can  be  experi¬ 
mentally  reproduced.  Should  I  attempt  to  do  so,  the 
fraud  would  be  easily  detected,  for  the  facts  are  public 
property,  and  are  known  to  him  who  reads.  My  conclu¬ 
sions  from  those  facts,  however,  rest  upon  a  different  foot¬ 
ing.  They  are  necessarily  my  own,  and  it  is  the  province 
of  the  reader  to  test  their  soundness  in  the  crucible  of  his 
own  logic,  if  mine  is  found  to  be  unsound  or  unsatis¬ 
factory. 

That  man  has  a  soul,  is  and  has  been,  since  the  dawn  of 
civilization,  a  matter  of  intuitive  perception ;  that  is  to 
say,  all  civilized  people  have  felt  that  they  realized,  in  a 
more  or  less  definite  way,  that  there  is  in  man  what  appears 
to  be  a  distinct  entity  which  is  apparently  capable  of  sus¬ 
taining  an  existence  independently  of  the  body.  This  fact 
of  universality  of  perception  constitutes  a  strong  argument, 
though  not  a  conclusive  one,  in  support  of  that  doctrine, 
and  its  corollary,  —  a  future  life.  It  is  noteworthy  that  in 
the  early  history  of  the  world,  the  higher  the  state  of  civili¬ 
zation  the  more  pronounced  and  definite  were  the  current 
notions  regarding  the  soul’s  existence ;  although  they 
lacked  that  clearness  and  simplicity  which  characterized 
the  purely  intuitional  perceptions  of  those  who  were  less 
skilled  in  philosophical  ratiocination.  Thus,  in  Greece, 
the  doctrine  was  formulated  in  clear  and  definite  terms  by 
Plato  who  held  that  man  is  composed  of  “  body,  soul,  and 
spirit.”  Plis  doctrine,  however,  was  the  result  of  something 
more  than  intuition.  He  does  not  tell  us  the  distinction 
between  soul  and  spirit,  and  leaves  us  entirely  in  the  dark 
as  to  whether  his  conclusions  were  arrived  at  from  the 
observation  of  phenomena,  or  from  purely  speculative 
philosophy,  without  facts  to  sustain  it.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  Plato,  in  common  with  the  other  philoso¬ 
phers  of  his  day,  regarded  the  conclusions  derived  from 
purely  speculative  philosophy  as  good  as  so  many  facts  for 


200 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


the  purpose  of  constructing  the  major  premise  of  a  syllo¬ 
gism.  Not  that  they  disdained  facts,  or  failed  to  employ 
them  when  they  were  easily  obtainable,  but  that  they  failed 
to  estimate  the  relative  value  of  a  demonstrated  fact  and 
the  conclusions  resulting  from  their  own  speculations. 
Again,  Plato  may  have  been  influenced  by  the  Hindu  phi¬ 
losophy,  which  constructs  man  in  sections,  puts  him 
together  like  a  telescope,  and  assigns  him  the  task  of  shed¬ 
ding  one  section  at  a  time  until  there  is  nothing  left  but 
“  pure  spirit.”  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  Plato’s 
idea  of  man  may  have  arisen  from  a  mal-observation  of 
psychic  phenomena.  Thus,  his  idea  of  the  spirit  may  have 
been  derived  from  his  observation  of  the  operation  of  the 
subjective  faculties;  and < his  idea  of  the  soul,  from  his 
observation  of  the  objective  mental  activity,  or  vice  versa. 
In  other  words,  he  failed  to  observe  that  the  objective 
mind,  instead  of  being  an  entity,  is  merely  the  function  of 
the  human  brain,  and  necessarily  ceases  with  the  death  of 
the  body ;  whereas  the  subjective  mind  belongs  to  a  dis¬ 
tinct  entity,  which  is  apparently  capable  of  sustaining  an 
existence  independently  of  the  body.  It  is  this  entity 
which  modern  philosophers  denominate  the  “  soul  ”  or  the 
“spirit,”  —  the  two  terms,  in  the  vocabulary  of  modern 
spiritual  philosophy,  being  generally  synonymous.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  still  to  be  found  occasional  representatives  of 
the  “  telescopic  ”  school  of  spiritual  philosophy,  who  hold  to 
the  old  doctrine  of  three  entities,  —  body,  soul,  and  spirit ; 
but  no  one  of  them  has  ever  been  able  to  point  to  a  single 
fact  which  discloses  the  existence  of  more  than  two.  There 
are  others  who  cling  to  the  old  vocabulary,  but  admit  that 
there  are  but  two  entities,  namely,  the  body  and  the  soul ; 
the  spirit,  in  their  philosophy,  being  the  life  principle  which 
animates  both  body  and  soul,  as  well  as  all  organic  Nature. 
In  this  sense  there  is  no  objection  to  the  phrase,  save  that 
it  has  a  tendency  to  confuse  the  unscientific  mind  and  to 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


201 


lead  it  into  a  maze  of  speculation  which  is  as  unprofitable 
as  it  is  unscientific. 

This  apparent  digression  is  made  for  the  purpose  of  pla¬ 
cing  the  conclusions  derived  from  the  speculative  philosophy 
of  the  ancients  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  intuitional  per¬ 
ceptions  of  the  unperverted  human  soul,  especially  that  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  I  shall  now  follow  it  up  by  showing 
that  the  facts  developed  by  modern  scientific  investigation 
confirm  and  emphasize  the  philosophy  of  Jesus  in  all  its 
purity  and  simplicity.  For  it  is  a  fact  of  most  profound 
significance  that  Jesus,  although  he  must  be  presumed  to 
have  been  acquainted  with  all  the  philosophy  of  his  day, 
never  gave  utterance  to  a  word  which  indicated  his  belief 
in  that  complicated  spiritual  structure  of  man  which  has 
been  so  industriously  proclaimed  by  both  ancient  and 
modern  philosophers.  He  taught  the  simple  truth  that 
man  has  a  soul ;  he  demonstrated  that  truth  by  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  phenomena  of  the  soul ;  he  promulgated  the 
doctrine  that  the  soul  is  capable  of  sustaining  an  existence 
independently  of  the  body,  and  he  taught  mankind  how  to 
deserve  and  how  to  attain  immortal  life.  This  comprises 
all  that  man  needs  to  know  of  spiritual  philosophy,  and  it 
will  not  be  denied  that  in  its  simplicity  of  statement  it  bears 
the  impress  of  scientific  truth.  It  is  the  province  of  science 
to  ascertain  whether  observable  facts  confirm  his  doctrines. 

Should  a  scientist  who  is  unfamiliar  with  the  recent 
developments  of  psychic  science,  be  asked  what  would 
constitute  conclusive  evidence  to  his  mind  of  the  existence 
of  a  soul  in  man,  he  would  doubtless  reply  that  he  must 
first  be  convinced  that  the  mind  does  not  follow  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  the  body  and  brain.  Then  he  would  launch  out 
into  a  more  or  less  learned  dissertation,  reminding  us  that 
all  human  experience  goes  to  show  that  as  the  body  grows 
weaker  the  mind  grows  weaker ;  that  a  disease  of  the  brain 
produces  insanity  or  imbecility ;  that  certain  organs  of  the 


202 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


mind  can  be  modified,  inhibited,  or  totally  destroyed  by  a 
surgical  operation  ;  that  mechanical  pressure  upon  the  brain 
produces  total  unconsciousness  and  insensibility ;  that  when 
the  body  dies,  all  manifestations  of  mind  cease  at  once  and 
forever,  etc.  In  short,  he  would  lead  us  through  all  the 
stock  arguments  of  materialistic  science  which  go  to  prove 
that  the  mind  is  not  an  entity,  but  a  function  of  the  physi¬ 
cal  brain,  and  that  it  necessarily  ceases  to  manifest  itself 
when  the  brain  loses  its  vitality.  All  this  we  have  heard 
before,  ad  nauseam,  and  all  this  we  admit  to  be  true,  so 
far  as  the  objective  mind  is  concerned  ;  but  we  hasten  to 
remind  him  that  the  researches  of  modern  science  have 
developed  the  fact  that  man  has  a  dual  mind,  —  two  planes 
of  consciousness,  —  a  normal  and  a  super-normal  plane, 
and  that  the  latter  manifests  itself  when  the  former  is  in¬ 
hibited.  In  other  words,  when  the  brain  is  asleep  and  all 
the  objective  senses  or  faculties  are  in  complete  abeyance, 
the  super-normal  or  subjective  faculties  are  capable  of  in¬ 
tense  activity.  If  he  has  heard  of  hypnotism  as  developed 
by  orthodox  scientists,  he  is  ready  to  admit  that  man  has  a 
dual  mind  in  the  sense  that  it  acts  in  one  way  under  certain 
conditions  of  the  body,  and  in  another  way  under  certain 
other  conditions  of  the  body.  “  It  is  the  same  mind,”  he 
adds,  “  its  powers  and  functions  being  susceptible  to  modi¬ 
fication  either  by  peripheral  stimuli  or  by  the  inhibition  of 
activity  in  certain  nerve  centres  and  the  stimulation  of 
others  to  abnormal  activity.”  All  this  has  a  very  learned 
sound,  in  that  it  is  characterized  by  the  oracular  indefinite¬ 
ness  of  true  materialistic  science  when  dealing  with  prob¬ 
lems  beyond  its  legitimate  domain.  Should  we  then  remind 
him  that  the  facts  of  experimental  psychology  show  that 
duality  of  mind  means  vastly  more  than  is  implied  in  his 
definition,  — that,  in  fact,  it  is  demonstrable  that  man  pos¬ 
sesses  a  dual  mind,  —  he  would  doubtless  inform  us  at  once 
that  such  a  thing  is  “impossible,”  that  it  is  “contrary  to 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


203 


the  nature  of  things,”  that  it  is  “  subversive  of  all  psycho¬ 
logical  science  ”  with  which  he  is  acquainted,  and,  worst  of 
all,  “  it  would  destroy  the  value  and  significance  of  all  the 
learning  that  has  been  bestowed  in  times  past  upon  the 
science  of  psychology ;  ”  in  short,  “  that  all  the  vast  bibli¬ 
ography  of  the  old  psychology  would  have  to  be  revised 
and  rewritten  ” 1  if  the  dual-mind  theory  is  demonstrable. 
Of  course,  all  this  is  very  shocking  and  subversive  and  revo¬ 
lutionary,  and  all  that ;  but  we  will  suppose  our  scientist  to 
be  a  fair-minded  man,  and  we  will  venture  one  more  ques¬ 
tion,  namely,  what  demonstration,  short  of  pulling  the  two 
minds  out  of  a  man  with  a  pair  of  forceps,  weighing  them 
in  a  balance,  and  carving  them  with  a  scalpel,  would  be  con¬ 
sidered  adequate  proof  of  the  actual  existence  of  two  minds 
in  man?  I  submit  that  the  conditions  to  be  prescribed 
by  the  most  exacting  scientist  could  be  no  more  severe 
than  the  following  :  — 

1.  It  must  be  shown  that  man  possesses  attributes  and 
powers  independent  of  each  other  and  irreconcilable  with 
each  other  except  by  the  hypothesis  that  he  is  endowed 
with  two  minds. 

2.  That  each  is  capable  of  independent  action  while  the 
other  is  in  complete  abeyance. 

3.  That  each  must  possess  powers  and  limitations  not 
possessed  by  the  other. 

4.  That  each  must,  in  the  normal  man,  perform  functions 
which  the  other  is  incapable  of  exercising. 

5.  That  one  mind  must  normally  be  subordinate  to  the 
other. 

6.  That  there  must  be  some  evidence  of  the  survival  of 
one  after  the  extinction  of  the  other. 

7.  That  each  of  the  foregoing  propositions  must  be 

1  I  am  quoting  from  memory  the  words  actually  employed  by 
an  eminent  scientist  when  confronted  with  the  theory  of  duality 
of  mind. 


204 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


demonstrated  by  an  appeal  to  observable  facts  that  are 
susceptible  of  no  other  rational  interpretation. 

I  think  it  will  be  conceded  by  the  most  sceptical  that  if 
the  foregoing  propositions  can  be  fairly  established,  it  will 
constitute  at  least  prim  a  facie  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
a  soul  in  mankind.  When  this  is  done,  it  will  be  followed 
by  other  considerations  which  will  be  demonstrative  of  that 
proposition.  In  the  mean  time,  as  the  above  propositions 
are  nearly  related,  they  will  be  considered  together. 

The  broad  line  of  distinction  and  demarcation  between 
the  two  classes  of  attributes  consists  in  the  fact,  which  is  of 
every-day  observation  and  universal  experience,  that  nor¬ 
mally  each  class  of  attributes  manifests  itself  while  the 
other  is  quiescent.  This  fact  is  brought  to  universal  con¬ 
sciousness  in  the  phenomena  of  dreams.  If  dreams  had 
but  recently  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  civilized 
world,  they  would  now  be  considered  the  most  wonderful 
phenomena  of  the  human  mind.  Being  the  common 
experience  of  all  mankind,  their  real  significance  has  been 
to  a  great  extent  overlooked.  The  reason  for  this  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  their  most  common  form  of  manifestation 
can  be  traced  either  to  peripheral  stimuli,  or  to  the  upper¬ 
most  waking  thoughts  of  the  sleeper.  But  it  occasionally 
happens,  and  has  happened  throughout  all  the  ages  of  which 
history  or  tradition  gives  us  any  account,  that  men  have 
dreamed  dreams  which  cannot  be  traced  to  anything  within 
the  known  physical  or  mental  environment  of  the  dreamer. 
Dreams  which  give  warning  of  impending  danger ;  dreams 
which  demonstrate  the  fact  of  communion  with  friends  at  a 
distance  ;  dreams  which  solve  problems  far  beyond  the  objec¬ 
tive  or  normal  capacity  of  the  dreamer,  —  are  among  the 
phenomena  which  point  clearly  to  a  consciousness  distinct 
from  and  independent  of  his  normal  consciousness,  and 
possessing  a  power  of  perception  of  truth  which  reaches 
out  far  beyond  the  range  of  the  objective  senses.  These 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


205 


are  phenomena  which  have  been  observed  in  a  haphazard, 
unintelligent  way  throughout  all  the  ages,  and  would  doubt¬ 
less  have  continued  to  be  so  observed  had  not  the  phenom¬ 
ena  of  mesmerism  or  hypnotism  been  brought  to  the 
attention  of  science.  Hypnotism  enables  us  to  study  the 
phenomena  of  dreams  by  experimental  reproduction ;  and 
in  this  sense  it  may  be  defined  to  be  the  power  to  repro¬ 
duce  the  phenomena  of  dreams.  It  is  that,  but  it  is  more. 
It  is  the  power,  not  only  to  reproduce,  but  to  control  the 
phenomena,  and  carry  them  to  an  intelligible  conclusion. 
Hypnotic  phenomena  possess  all  the  salient  characteristics 
of  dream  phenomena,  and  are  governed  by  the  same  laws, 
modified  only  by  methods  of  induction.  The  total  or 
partial  abeyance  of  the  objective  senses  (sleep)  is  the  first 
requisite  in  each  ease.  In  hypnotism  the  subject  is  e?i 
rapport  with  the  hypnotist,  and  his  dreams  are  controlled 
by  the  suggestions  of  the  latter.  In  natural  sleep  the  sub¬ 
ject  is  en  rapport  with  himself,  and  his  dreams  are  controlled 
sometimes  by  the  suggestions  conveyed  in  the  current  of 
his  waking  thoughts,  and  sometimes  by  those  of  peripheral 
stimuli.  This  is  practically  all  that  differentiates  hypnotic 
sleep  from  natural  sleep  (Bernheim).  When  the  sleep  is 
induced  by  hypnotic  processes,  the  subject  may  always  be 
made  to  dream  by  making  oral  suggestions,  and  frequently 
by  mere  mental  suggestion.  He  can  also  be  made  to 
dream  by  peripheral  stimuli,  such  as  applying  heat  or  cold 
to  his  body,  or  by  placing  him  in  attitudes  suggestive  of 
certain  mental  emotions,  or  by  causing  music  to  be  played 
in  his  presence.1  There  is  another  point  where  the  phe¬ 
nomena  of  hypnotism  and  dreams  exactly  coincide  which 
deserves  particular  attention.  It  is  well  known  that,  when 

1  See  “  Some  Physiologic  Effects  of  Music  in  Hypnotized  Sub¬ 
jects,”  by  Aldred  S.  Warthin,  Ph.D.,  M.D.,  Demonstrator  of  Clinical 
Medicine  in  the  Michigan  University,  Medical  News,  July  28,  1894 
(Philadelphia). 


20  6 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


sleep  is  profound,  dreams  are  not  remembered.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  it  was  demonstrated  many  years  ago,  by  the  earlier 
psychologists,  that,  no  matter  how  profound  the  sleep, 
dreams  do  not  cease.  It  is  precisely  so  in  hypnotism.  If 
the  hypnosis  is  profound,  the  subject  does  not  remember 
the  experiences  through  which  he  has  passed.  It  is,  how¬ 
ever,  in  that  state  of  profound  hypnosis  that  the  most 
wonderful  phenomena  are  produced.  It  is  then  that  the 
evidences  are  most  conclusive  of  a  second  intelligence 
existent  in  man ;  for  it  is  then  that  the  distinctive  attributes 
and  powers  of  the  subjective  entity  come  to  the  surface. 

This,  then,  is  the  broad  dividing  line  which  separates  the 
two  hypothetical  entities.  It  is  so  plain  and  palpable  that 
it  cannot  fail  to  be  observed  by  every  one  who  has  witnessed 
the  phenomena  of  hypnotism ;  and  it  consists,  as  before 
remarked,  in  the  fact  that  the  essential  condition  precedent 
to  the  successful  exercise  of  the  distinctive  attributes  and 
powers  of  each  of  the  two  minds  is  that  the  other  must  be 
in  a  state  of  quiescence.  This  fact  alone  constitutes 
prima  facie  evidence  of  duality,  at  least  in  the  limited  sense 
of  the  term. 

It  will  now  be  in  order  to  ascertain  the  distinctive  char¬ 
acteristics  which  differentiate  the  objective  and  subjective 
mental  states,  with  the  view  of  determining  whether  they 
point  logically  to  the  conclusion  that  the  phenomena  are 
the  product  of  two  distinct  mental  organizations. 

The  first  distinctive  characteristic  of  the  subjective  mind, 
which  differentiates  it  from  the  objective  in  a  most  marked 
and  unmistakable  manner,  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
constantly  amenable  to  control  by  the  power  of  suggestion. 
This  fact  has  been  noted  in  a  previous  chapter,  and  is 
restated  here  for  the  sake  of  a  symmetrical  grouping  of  the 
whole  of  the  leading  characteristics  of  the  subjective  entity. 
It  need  not  be  dwelt  upon  at  this  time  further  than  to 
remark  upon  its  universality.  The  scientists  to  whom  the 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


20  7 


world  is  forever  indebted  for  the  discovery  of  the  law  of 
suggestion,  did  not  realize  that  it  applied  to  other  than  the 
phenomena  evoked  by  experimental  hypnotism.  Indeed, 
Bernheim  himself  expressly  founds  his  definition  of  hypno¬ 
tism  upon  the  assumed  fact  that  it  only  “  increases  the 
susceptibility  to  suggestion.”  In  other  words,  he  assumes 
that  all  men  are  more  or  less  susceptible  to  suggestion  “  in 
their  waking  state.”  That  this  is  true  only  in  the  limited 
sense  that  all  men  in  their  normal  condition  are  more  or 
less  susceptible  to  persuasion  or  argument,  is  demonstrated 
by  every  experiment  legitimately  conducted.  It  is  true  that 
a  very  slight  degree  of  hypnosis  is  required  in  very  sensitive 
subjects,  or  in  those  who  have  often  been  hypnotized  by  the 
operator,  as  was  the  case  in  Bernheim’s  experiments ;  but 
that  some  degree  of  subjectivity  or  abeyance  of  the  objec¬ 
tive  faculties  is  required  to  render  a  person  susceptible  to 
the  power  of  suggestion  proper,  is  all  but  self-evident.  Thus 
it  is  a  fact  of  common  experience  that  when  one  goes  to  a 
dentist’s  office  to  have  an  aching  tooth  extracted,  he  inva¬ 
riably  finds  upon  his  arrival  that  the  tooth  has  ceased  to 
ache.  In  other  words,  Nature  has  hypnotized  him  so  far  as 
to  produce  anaesthesia  in  the  refractory  nerve,  although  he 
appears  to  be  in  a  perfectly  nor,mal  condition.1  If,  now, 
some  one  who  understands  the  power  of  suggestion,  and 
knows  how  to  apply  it,  should  make  the  suggestion  to  the 
patient  that  the  anaesthesia  would  be  continued  until  the 
tooth  is  extracted,  no  pain  would  be  experienced  from  the 
operation. 

The  points  to  be  here  observed  are,  first,  that  it  requires 
but  a  slight  degree  of  hypnosis  to  render  one  susceptible 
to  the  power  of  suggestion ;  secondly,  that  some  degree  of 
abeyance  of  the  objective  faculties  is  necessary  to  render 
suggestion  effective ;  thirdly,  that  the  law  of  suggestion  is 

1  See  “Hypnotism  a  Universal  Anaesthetic  in  Surgery,”  N.  Y  Med. 
Jour.,  Dec.  22,  1894. 


208 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


universal,  and  applies  to  all  degrees  of  subjectivity  and  to 
all  psychic  phenomena  of  whatever  name  or  nature ;  and 
fourthly,  that  the  subjective  mind  is  controllable  by  sugges¬ 
tion  against  reason,  experience,  and  the  evidences  of  the 
senses.  It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that  the  objective 
mind,  in  its  normal  state,  is  not  susceptible  to  such  control. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  this  difference  between  the  two 
mental  states  of  man  possesses  a  veritable  significance  of  some 
kind,  nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  solution  of  the  problem 
will  prove  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  human  family. 

The  second  proposition  bearing  upon  the  subject  is  that 
the  subjective  mind  is  incapable  of  reasoning  inductively. 
This  will  readily  be  seen  to  be  a  corollary  of  the  law  of  sug¬ 
gestion  ;  that  is  to  say,  under  the  law  of  suggestion  the 
subjective  mind,  when  it  reasons  at  all,  necessarily  takes  its 
premises  from  the  objective  mind.  In  experimental  hyp¬ 
notism  its  premises  are  the  suggestions  of  the  hypnotist. 
From  those  suggestions  it  will  reason  deductively  with  most 
marvellous  acumen.  Indeed,  its  power  of  correct  deduction 
from  any  premises  suggested  seems  to  be  practically  perfect. 
And  this  is  equally  true  whether  the  premises  are  true  or 
false.  Like  the  ancient  Greek  philosophers,  it  does  not 
disdain  facts  when  they  will  serve  its  purpose ;  that  is, 
when  they  serve  to  sustain  the  proposition  embraced  in  the 
suggestion.  Indeed,  it  will  marshal  all  such  facts  that  are 
within  the  storehouse  of  its  perfect  memory ;  but  it  will 
persistently  ignore  all  facts  which  militate  against  the  sug¬ 
gestion.  It  is  impossible  that  it  should  do  otherwise.  The 
inexorable  law  of  suggestion  interposes  an  insuperable  bar¬ 
rier  against  independent  thought,  which  is  the  very  essence 
I  of  induction.  The  subjective  mind  cannot  marshal  facts 
I  except  on  one  side  of  a  question,  and  that  side  is  in  favor 
of  the  suggestion  which  happens  for  the  time  being  to  be 
uppermost.  That  is  as  true  of  the  subjective  mental  oper¬ 
ations  of  every-day  life  as  it  is  of  experimental  hypnotism. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


209 


The  third  proposition  is  that  the  power  of  the  subjective 
mind  to  reason  deductively  from  given  premises  is  practi¬ 
cally  perfect.  This  has  been  mentioned  in  the  foregoing 
paragraphs,  but  it  requires  further  elucidation.  I  do  not 
set  this  down  as  a  distinctive  characteristic  of  the  subjec¬ 
tive  mind  which  is  antithetical  to  the  objective  ;  for  it  is 
obvious  that  the  latter  possesses  that  power.  But  it  is 
worthy  of  note,  for  the  reason  that  the  difference  in  degree 
is  so  marked  that  it  practically  amounts  to  a  distinctive 
attribute  of  the  subjective  mind.  Nor  do  I  assert  that  its 
power  of  correct  deduction  is  perfect.  It  is  manifestly 
impossible  to  know  just  when  the  conditions  are  perfect  for 
the  manifestation  of  the  highest  powers.  But  that  under 
favorable  conditions  it  is  practically  perfect,  does  not  admit 
of  doubt  in  the  minds  of  those  who  have  intelligently 
observed  the  phenomena  of  experimental  hypnotism,  or, 
indeed,  any  of  the  higher  phases  of  psychic  phenomena. 
When  this  prodigious  power  of  correct  deduction  is  prop¬ 
erly  understood  and  appreciated,  it  will  be  found  to  furnish 
the  key  to  many  obscure  problems  in  psychic  science.  As  a 
single  instance  I  will  mention  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
phenomena  of  so-called  prevision,  or  prophecy,  may  be 
traced  directly  to  the  power  of  correct  deduction  from  prem¬ 
ises  derived  from  any  of  the  myriad  sources  from  which  a 
suggestion  maybe  imparted  or  knowledge  obtained.  Telep¬ 
athy,  for  instance,  is  one  of  the  sources  of  information 
through  which  the  subjective  mind  obtains  knowledge  of 
facts  not  consciously  possessed  by  the  objective  intelligence 
of  either  of  the  parties  concerned.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
most  if  not  all  of  the  mysterious  cases  of  prevision  may  be 
traced  to  this  cause.  I  do  not  say  that  the  subjective  mind 
of  man  may  not  possess  the  inherent  power  of  correct  pre¬ 
vision  independently  of  knowledge  of  the  subject-matter  or 
the  processes  of  reasoning.  I  do  not  know.  Many  stories 
are  current  which  would  seem  to  indicate  the  existence  of 


14 


210 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


that  power.  But  such  stories  are  usually  very  far  from 
being  sufficiently  well  authenticated  to  warrant  any  scientist 
in  giving  them  anything  more  than  a  provisional  place  in 
psychic  science.  Certain  it  is  that  all  the  scientifically 
verified  accounts  of  correct  prevision  may  be  traced  directly 
to  the  soul’s  wonderful  power  of  correct  deduction  ;  and 
all  that  is  mysterious  regarding  its  sources  of  information 
may  be  traced  to-  telepathy  and  perfect  memory.  When 
these  two  powers  are  taken  into  consideration,  it  will  readily 
be  seen  that  the  subjective  mind  is  in  possession  of  sources 
of  data  of  which  the  objective  intelligence  of  mankind  has 
as  yet  but  a  faint  conception ;  and  when  to  these  sources 
of  information  is  added  the  power  of  perfect  deduction,  it 
will  be  seen  that  much,  if  not  all,  of  that  which  has  seemed 
mysterious  and  inexplicable  except  by  reference  to  super¬ 
mundane  sources  of  information,  is  easily  explained  by 
reference  to  natural  laws  with  which  the  world  is  fast  be¬ 
coming  acquainted. 

May  not  this  be  the  fountain  of  “  this  pleasing  hope, 
this  fond  desire,  this  longing  after  immortality  ”  ?  May  it 
not  be  the  origin  of  that  emotion  of  the  human  mind 
which  has  been  designated  as  an  “  intuitive  knowledge  of  a 
life  to  come”?  May  not  the  soul  have  experiences  of 
spiritual  life  so  far  removed  from  the  physical  realm  that 
no  cognizance  of  them  can  be  taken  by  the  objective  con¬ 
sciousness?  May  not  the  soul  be  able  to  reach  a  state  of 
consciousness  so  exalted  as  to  enable  it  to  come  into  con¬ 
tact  and  conscious  communion  with  a  deific  intelligence, 
and  to  imbibe  truth  from  its  Eternal  Source  ?  May  not  the 
soul  reach  such  a  state  of  illumination  during  the  uncon¬ 
scious  moments  of  the  physical  senses  that  all  spiritual 
truth  will  be  open  to  its  intuitive  perceptions?  May  not 
the  soul,  either  in  its  state  of  induced  exaltation  or  by  the 
exercise  of  its  normal  powers,  be  able  to  take  cognizance 
of  spiritual  facts  from  which  it  may.  by  the  exercise  of  its 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


211 


marvellous  powers  of  correct  deduction,  be  able  to  demon¬ 
strate  to  its  own  consciousness  the  fact  of  immortality  ? 
All  these  questions,  and  more,  will  be  asked  by  the  earnest 
seeker  after  tangible  evidences  of  a  future  life.  They  are 
interesting,  if  not  pertinent,  questions ;  and  were  we  indul¬ 
ging  in  the  pleasing  phantasies  of  speculative  philosophy,  and 
could  thus  afford  to  dispense  with  facts,  we  might  construct 
an  argument  for  immortality  that  to  many  would  seem  im¬ 
pregnable.  But  there  is  one  insuperable  obstacle  in  the 
way  which  must  forever  prevent  the  construction  of  a  con¬ 
clusive  argument  based  upon  these  hypothetical  powers. 
The  inexorable  law  of  suggestion  interposes  itself  at  the 
very  threshold  of  the  argument,  and  casts  a  doubt  upon  the 
verity  of  the  premises.  It  might  even  be  demonstrated  that 
the  soul’s  power  of  correct  deduction  from  given  premises 
was  perfect  and  infallible  ;  yet,  when  the  correctness  of  the 
premises  is  in  doubt,  the  argument  based  upon  them  is 
necessarily  invalid.  In  other  words,  the  soul,  so  long  as  it 
inhabits  the  body,  is  never  exempt  from  the  operation  of 
the  law  of  suggestion.  Hence  it  is  often  impossible  to 
know  whether  its  supposed  perceptions  are  veridical  or  are 
merely  subjective  hallucinations  resulting  from  auto-sugges¬ 
tion  or  from  a  suggestion  imparted  to  it  from  some  extra¬ 
neous  source.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  we  must  look 
elsewhere  than  in  hypothetical  perceptions  or  intuitions, 
unsupported  by  demonstrative  evidence  of  their  verity,  for 
logical  proof  of  a  future  life.  I  have  dwelt  thus  far  upon 
the  subject  of  the  deductive  power  of  the  subjective  mind, 
not  because  it  differentiates  the  one  mind  from  the  other, 
except  in  degree,  but  because  of  its  general  interest  in  that 
it  furnishes  an  explanation  of  much  of  the  phenomena  of 
so-called  prevision.  In  the  ensuing  chapter  I  will  return 
to  the  consideration  of  those  faculties  of  the  soul  which 
present  distinctive  points  of  difference  from  the  faculties 
and  functions  of  the  objective  mind. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

has  man  a  soul?  ( continued ). 

The  Perfect  Memory  of  the  Subjective  Mind.  —  Memory  and  Recol¬ 
lection  Differentiated.  —  Sir  William  Hamilton’s  Views.  —  In¬ 
tuitional  Powers  of  Perception  of  Nature’s  Laws.  —  The  Seat  of 
the  Emotions.  —  The  Three  Normal  Functions  of  the  Subjective 
Mind.  —  The  Infant’s  Development  from  Savagery  to  Civiliza¬ 
tion.  —  Total  Depravity.  —  Dangers  of  Subjective  Control.  — • 
Telepathy  a  purely  Subjective  Faculty.  —  Abnormality  of  Psychic 
Manifestations.  —  Ill  Health  a  Condition  precedent  to  their  Pro¬ 
duction. —  They  grow  Stronger  as  the  Body  grows  Weaker. — 
Strongest  in  the  Hour  of  Death.  —  The  Objective  Mind  perishes 
with  the  Brain. 

'T'HE  fourth  characteristic  of  the  subjective  mind,  which 
*  distinguishes  it  from  the  objective,  consists  in  the  fact 
that  the  former  is  endowed  with  a  perfect  memory.  In 
saying  this,  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  objec¬ 
tive  mind  is  also  endowed  with  a  memory ;  but  its  mani¬ 
festations  are  feeble  in  comparison  with  the  prodigious 
power  of  the  subjective  mind.  Properly  speaking,  the 
difference  between  the  two  would  be  defined  by  the  em¬ 
ployment  of  the  word  “  memory  ”  to  designate  the  faculty 
in  the  subjective  intelligence,  and  the  word  “  recollection  ” 
to  designate  the  corresponding  faculty  in  the  objective 
mind.  Memory,  in  this  sense,  is  the  actual  and  distinct 
retention  of  recognition  of  past  ideas  in  the  mind  (Web¬ 
ster).  Recollection  is  the  power  of  recalling  ideas  to  the 
mind ;  in  other  words,  it  is  the  power  of  re-collecting  the 
ideas  which  have  once  been  in  the  mind,  but  are,  for  the 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  2 1  3 


time  being,  forgotten.  The  latter  faculty  varies  in  strength 
in  different  individuals.  Subjective  memory  is  the  absolute 
retention  of  all  ideas,  however  superficially  they  may  have 
been  impressed  upon  the  objective  mind ;  and  it  admits  of 
no  variation  in  power  in  different  individuals.  It  must  not 
be  understood  that  all  manifestations  of  subjective  memory 
are  equally  perfect.  That  is  obviously  impossible,  for  the 
reason  that  subjective  conditions  are  not  always  perfect ; 
but  experimental  hypnotism  develops  the  fact  that  subjec¬ 
tive  memory  is  exalted,  other  things  being  equal,  just  in 
proportion  to  the  depth  of  the  hypnosis. 

The  German  psychologists  noted  this  phenomenon 
many  years  before  the  English  philosophers  took  it  into 
account;  and  it  was  not  until  Sir  William  Hamilton  brought 
it  to  the  attention  of  the  English-speaking  public  that  it 
was  seriously  considered  as  a  factor  in  psychological  science. 
Sir  William  designated  it  as  “mental  latency;”  and  he 
went  so  far  as  to  hold  that  all  recollection  consisted  in 
rescuing  from  the  storehouse  of  latent  memory  some  part 
of  its  treasure.  His  hypothesis  necessarily  presupposed 
latent  memory  to  be  perfect,  and  he  cites  many  cases  in 
support  of  that  supposition.  The  curious  part  of  his  hy¬ 
pothesis,  however,  consists  in  the  fact  that  whilst  he  con¬ 
siders  it  a  normal  mental  process  to  elevate  a  part  of  the 
latent  treasures  of  the  mind  above  the  threshold  of  con¬ 
sciousness,  he  recognizes  the  fact  that  it  is  only  under  the 
most  intensely  abnormal  conditions  that  the  whole  content 
of  the  magazine  of  latent  intelligence  can  be  brought  to 
light.  He  says  :  — 

“  The  second  degree  of  latency  exists  when  the  mind  con¬ 
tains  certain  systems  of  knowledge  or  certain  habits  of  action 
which  it  is  wholly  unconscious  of  possessing  in  its  ordinary  state, 
but  which  are  revealed  to  consciousness  in  certain  extraordi¬ 
nary  exaltations  of  its  powers.  The  evidence  on  this  point  shows 
that  the  mind  frequently  contains  whole  systems  of  knowledge 
which,  though  in  our  normal  state  they  may  have  faded  into 


214 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


absolute  oblivion,  may  in  certain  abnormal  states,  as  mad¬ 
ness,  febrile  delirium,  somnambulism,  catalepsy,  etc.,  flash  into 
luminous  consciousness,  and  even  throw  into  the  shade  of  un¬ 
consciousness  those  other  systems  by  which  they  had  for  a  long 
period  been  eclipsed  and  even  extinguished.  For  example, 
there  are  cases  in  which  the  extinct  memory  of  whole  languages 
was  suddenly  restored,  and,  what  is  even  still  more  remarkable, 
in  which  the  faculty  was  exhibited  of  accurately  repeating,  in 
known  or  unknown  tongues,  passages  which  were  never  within  the 
grasp  of  conscious  memory  in  the  normal  state.  This  degree, 
this  phenomenon  of  latency,  is  one  of  the  most  marvellous  in 
the  whole  compass  of  philosophy.”  1 

He  then  cites  some  most  remarkable  instances  demon¬ 
strative  of  the  perfection  of  subjective  memory.2 3 

It  is  obvious  that  Sir  William  had  not  studied  the  phe¬ 
nomena  of  experimental  hypnotism,  or  he  would  have 
discovered  many  facts  which  his  hypothesis  of  mental 
latency  could  not  account  for.  Amongst  others  he  would 
have  discovered  that  physical  disease  of  a  very  pronounced 
character  is  not  essential  to  the  production  of  phenomena 
exhibiting  the  marvellous  perfection  of  subjective  memory; 
and  that  an  hypnotic  subject  can  be  so  trained  that,  even 
in  an  apparently  normal  condition,  he  can  be  caused  to 
memorize  a  whole  page  of  printed  matter  by  gazing  upon 
it  but  two  seconds  of  time.8  Fie  would  have  found  in  the 
dual  hypothesis  a  complete  explanation  of  the  facts  which 
he  labored  in  vain  to  explain,  and  a  more  direct  road  to  a 
demonstration  of  what  he  labored  so  assiduously  to  prove. 

The  fifth  faculty  of  the  subjective  mind,  which  distin¬ 
guishes  it  from  the  objective  intelligence,  consists  in  its 
power  under  certain  conditions,  not  yet  clearly  defined,  of 
apprehending  by  perception  or  intuition,  and  without  the 

1  Lectures  on  Metaphysics,  p.  236. 

2  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  subject,  see  “The  Law  of  Psychic 
Phenomena,”  ch.  iv.,  v.  See  also  Beasley  on  the  Mind  ;  Abercrombie 
on  the  Intellectual  Powers ;  and  Coleridge’s  Biographia  Literaria. 

3  See  Bertolacci’s  Christian  Spiritualism,  p.  30. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


215 


aid  of  the  process  of  induction,  the  laws  of  Nature.  As 
this  branch  of  the  subject  has  been  treated  in  a  former 
chapter,  it  is  mentioned  here  merely  for  the  sake  of  sym¬ 
metrical  grouping. 

The  sixth  distinctive  characteristic  of  the  subjective  mind 
consists  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the  seat  of  the  emotions.  In 
that  alone  exists  the  emotional  element  in  man.  The  ob¬ 
jective  mind  is  pure  intellect,  —  cold,  deliberate,  reasoning. 
During  the  normal  physical  life  of  man  it  is  the  domi¬ 
nating  power  in  the  dual  mental  organization.  This  is 
necessarily  true  for  the  reasons,  first,  that  it  would  be  im¬ 
possible  for  the  two  entities  to  maintain  harmonious  rela¬ 
tions  if  one  were  not  normally  subordinated  to  the  other ; 
and  second,  that  the  dominant  power  must  be  that  which 
is  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  reasoning  by  all  processes 
and  in  all  directions.  That  power  is  the  objective  mind, 
and  it  is  enabled  to  maintain  its  ascendency  solely  by  virtue 
of  the  fact  that  the  subjective  mind  is  normally  amenable 
to  control  by  the  power  of  suggestion.  A  complete  rever¬ 
sal  of  the  order  —  that  is,  the  subjective  mind  in  control  — 
is  what  constitutes  insanity.  A  partial  reversal  constitutes 
partial  insanity,  and  is  also  the  source  of  all  vice  and  im¬ 
morality.  Indeed,  vice,  in  this  sense,  is  a  form  of  insanity ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  same  cause  operates  to  produce  both, 
the  difference  being  in  degree  only. 

Before  proceeding,  however,  to  discuss  this  branch  of  the 
subject,  it  is  logically  necessary  to  verify  the  fundamental 
proposition ;  namely,  that  the  subjective  mind  or  soul  is  the 
seat  of  the  emotions.  A  few  words  will  be  sufficient  for 
this  purpose. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  what  we  call  “  instinct  ”  in 
animals  is  a  purely  subjective  endowment.  Its  acts  are  per¬ 
formed  independently  of  objective  reason  or  intelligence. 

“  Instinctive  acts,  so  far  as  the  individual  exhibiting  them  is 
concerned,  are  not  the  result  of  instruction  or  experience.  This 


21 6 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


is  one  of  the  most  prominent  points  wherein  the  actions  in 
question  differ  from  those  which  proceed  from  intelligence  and 
reason,  performed  for  a  definite  purpose.  These  latter  are 
necessarily  due  to  impressions  conveyed  to  the  mind  through 
the  senses  and  nerves,  and  are,  therefore,  of  eccentric  origin. 
The  former  are  prompted  by  a  force  acting  altogether  without 
the  agency  of  intelligential  external  sensations  of  any  kind,  and 
are  of  internal  origin.” 1 

It  may  be  defined  as  follows  :  — 

Instinct  is  that  innate  faculty  of  the  subjective  mind, 
which  all  organic  beings  possess,  by  which  they  are  impelled 
to  perform  certain  volitional  acts  without  being  prompted 
thereto  by  the  objective  intellect,  which  acts  are  preserva¬ 
tive  of  the  well  being  or  life  of  the  individual,  or  of  the 
species  to  which  it  belongs.2 

There  are  three  clearly  defined  instinctive  emotions,  two 
of  which  are  common  to  all  organic  beings.  They  are  : 
i.  The  instinct  of  self-preservation;  2.  The  instinct  of 
Reproduction ;  3.  The  instinct  which  impels  the  parent  to 
acts  preservative  of  the  well  being  or  life  of  the  offspring. 
To  the  last  must  be  added  that  which  is  common  to  man 
and  a  few  of  the  animal  creation ;  namely,  that  instinct 
which  impels  the  individual  to  acts  preservative  of  the  lives 
of  the  members  of  the  species  to  which  it  belongs,  without 
regard  to  age  or  consanguinity.  This  may  be  regarded  as 
a  higher  instinct ;  but  it  is  obviously  the  result  of  social  or 
political  organization,  and  is  merely  a  modification  of  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation.  To  these  three  instinctive 
emotions  of  the  human  mind  should  be  added  a  fourth, 
which  is  no  less  clearly  defined,  and  which  is  well-nigh 
universal ;  namely,  the  instinct  of  religious  worship.  This, 
however,  does  not  pertain  directly  to  the  subject  under 
consideration.  It  is,  however,  necessarily  a  subjective  emo- 

1  Dr.  William  A.  Hammond’s  Treatise  on  Insanity,  p.  137. 

2  This  is  a  slight  modification  of  Dr.  Hammond’s  clear  and  com¬ 
prehensive  definition. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


217 


tion,  as  it  pertains  exclusively  to  the  human  soul.  We 
have,  then,  three  distinct  primary  emotions  of  the  mind 
which  are  obviously  and  necessarily  attributes  of  the  sub¬ 
jective  mind,  as  distinguished  from  the  objective  intelli¬ 
gence.  In  man  they  all  pertain  to  the  perpetuation  of  the 
human  race,  and  their  resultant  acts  constitute  the  normal 
functions  of  the  human  soul.  Moreover,  they  are  the  only 
normal  functions  of  the  soul  in  its  relations  to  the  physical 
organization. 

Leaving  out  of  present  consideration  the  emotion  of  reli¬ 
gious  worship,  all  human  emotions  are  traceable  to  one  or 
the  other  of  the  primary  instinctive  emotions  just  men¬ 
tioned  ;  that  is  to  say,  all  emotions  are  modifications  or 
combinations  of  the  primary  emotions.  This  being  true,  it 
follows  that  my  original  proposition  is  true ;  namely,  that 
the  subjective  mind  or  soul  is  the  seat  of  the  emotions. 

Now,  inasmuch  as  all  immorality,  vice,  and  crime  are  per- ! 
versions  of  the  human  emotions  or  passions,  it  follows  that 
.  immorality,  vice,  and  crime  are  the  results  of  giving  to  the 
subjective  mind  undue  control  of  the  dual  mental  organi¬ 
zation.  In  other  words,  Reason  abdicates  her  rightful  au-  Qx( 
thority  and  power,  and  the  subjective  mind  usurps  its  place, 
but  without  having  the  ability  to  perform  its  functions. 

That  this  is  true,  is  evidenced  by  every  phenomenon  of 
physical  and  mental  life  and  growth.  Thus,  the  history  of 
the  life  of  every  human  being  from  infancy  to  adult  age,  is 
an  epitome  of  the  history  of  the  development  of  the  race 
from  savagery  to  civilization.  The  newly  born  infant  is 
purely  subjective  ;  its  objective  mind  is  a  blank.  It  is  then 
governed  alone  by  instinct.  It  is  an  animal,  with  nothing 
in  its  mental  development  to  distinguish  it  from  the  cub  of 
the  bear  or  the  lion’s  whelp,  except  its  physical  conforma¬ 
tion  and  its  more  absolute  helplessness.  It  quickly  develops 
from  the  purely  animal  existence,  but  the  first  step  in  its 
evolution  is  to  a  state  of  savagery.  Its  instincts  are  wholly 


218 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


selfish,  it  is  destitute  of  conscience,  and  totally  oblivious  of 
the  rights  of  others.  Its  next  step  is  to  a  state  of  bar¬ 
barism.  That  “the  small  boy  is  a  barbarian”  is  a  vulgar 
statement  of  a  scientific  truth  ;  and  the  saying  belongs  to  the 
vocabulary  of  Evolution.  From  barbarism  he  soon  emerges 
into  semi-barbarism,  then  to  civilization,  and  finally  to  en¬ 
lightenment.  The  point  to  be  noted  is  that  the  various 
steps  in  advance  are  due  wholly  to  objective  education. 
Modified  to  a  certain  extent  by  heredity,  the  degree  of  a 
child’s  progress  from  infancy  to  manhood,  or  rather  from 
savagery  toward  enlightenment,  is  determined  by  its  envi¬ 
ronment  ;  that  is,  by  the  character  of  its  objective  educa¬ 
tion.  In  other  words,  just  in  proportion  to  the  excellence 
of  the  mental  and  moral  training  of  the  objective  mind, 
and  just  in  proportion  to  its  dominating  power  over  the 
subjective  faculties,  will  be  the  excellence  of  the  moral 
character  of  the  individual.  If  this  training  has  been  good, 
and  if  objective  reason  has  exercised  its  legitimate  control 
over  the  subjective  passions  or  propensities,  —  in  short,  if 
normal  conditions  are  allowed  to  prevail,  a  perfect  men¬ 
tality  and  a  lofty  moral  altitude  will  be  reached.  But  if, 
for  want  of  proper  training,  the  subjective  mind  is  allowed 
to  maintain  in  adult  life  that  ascendency  which  is  its  nor¬ 
mal  condition  in  infancy,  moral  degradation,  if  not  crime 
or  insanity,  is  sure  to  result.  The  doctrine  which  affirmed 
the  “total  depravity”  of  the  “  natural  man”  derived  its 
origin  from  a  constant  observation  of  these  phenomena  of 
the  human  mind ;  and,  in  the  absence  of  all  knowledge  of 
the  true  relationship  existing  between  the  two  minds,  of 
their  respective  and  relative  powers,  functions,  and  limita¬ 
tions,  who  shall  say  that  the  conclusions  of  the  ancient 
philosophers  were  not  justified?  The  control  of  the  sub¬ 
jective  mind  by  the  objective,  through  the  power  of  sugges¬ 
tion,  is  normally  absolute  and  perfect  when  that  power  is 
asserted  and  maintained.  Nevertheless,  there  appears  to 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


219 


come  a  time  in  every  man’s  life  when  there  is  a  conflict  of 
jurisdiction,  —  a  struggle  for  ascendency  between  the  nat¬ 
ural  passions  and  instinctive  propensities  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  restraints  of  reason,  morality,  and  religion  on  the 
other.  Saint  Paul,  in  graphic  phrases,  gives  expression  to 
that  inward  conflict  when  he  says  :  — 

“  I  find  then  a  law,  that,  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  pres¬ 
ent  with  me.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward 
man :  but  I  see  another  law  in  my  members,  warring  against 
the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law 
of  sin  which  is  in  my  members.  O  wretched  man  that  I  am ! 
who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  ” 

Saint  Paul’s  experience  is  by  no  means  unique ;  but  the 
remedy  is  in  the  hands  of  every  normal  man ;  and  that  is 
to  assert  and  maintain  the  ascendency  of  objective  reason 
over  the  instinctive  emotions.  Not  that  there  is  anything 
inherently  sinful  or  abnormal  in  their  legitimate  indulgence, 
for  there  is  not.  Like  every  other  faculty  of  the  human 
mind  and  soul,  they  have  their  legitimate  sphere  of  opera¬ 
tion  ;  and  their  normal  exercise  is  beneficent.  Without  it 
the  world  would  be  depopulated  in  a  generation.  With  it 
was  organic  evolution  made  possible.  The  danger  lies,  not 
so  much  in  sporadic  bases  of  predominant  passion  in  the 
otherwise  normal  man ;  but  there  is  an  appalling  and  con¬ 
stantly  growing  danger  in  the  modern  tendency  towards 
the  cultivation  of  subjective  powers  in  utter  ignorance  of 
the  fundamental  laws  which  pertain  to  their  operation.  It 
is  a  danger  which  in  its  tendencies  threatens  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  civil  society  ;  for  it  presents  itself  in  such  insidious 
guise  that  the  innocent  alike  with  the  guilty  are  in  danger 
of  being  drawn  within  its  vortex.  This,  however,  is  a 
branch  of  the  subject  which  must  be  treated  in  a  future 
chapter,  and  I  will  therefore  no  longer  digress. 

The  seventh  faculty  possessed  exclusively  by  the  subjec¬ 
tive  entity  consists  of  the  power  to  move  ponderable 


220 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


objects  without  physical  contact.  In  this  it  is  meant  to 
include  all  the  physical  phenomena  of  so-called  spirit  mani¬ 
festations.  I  need  not  dwell  upon  this  branch  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  for  the  phenomena  are  so  thoroughly  attested  that  it 
would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  attempt  to  convince  those  who 
mistake  ignorance  for  scepticism.  Besides,  to  those  who 
agree  with  me  in  ascribing  these  manifestations  to  the 
agency  of  the  psychic  who  produces  the  phenomena,  it  is 
self-evident  that  it  is  by  the  subjective  entity  that  they  are 
produced.  All  others  will  agree  that  they  are  not  due  to 
any  known  physical  power.  Moreover,  the  subject  has 
been  so  fully  treated  in  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena  ” 
that  it  could  not  be  enlarged  upon  here  without  unseemly 
repetition. 

The  eighth  faculty  or  power  of  the  subjective  mind 
which  clearly  and  sharply  differentiates  it  from  the  objective 
mind,  is  that  of  telepathy,  or  the  power  of  one  mind  to 
communicate  intelligence  to  another,  otherwise  than  through 
the  recognized  channels  of  the  senses.  That  this  power 
exists,  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt  in  well-informed  scien¬ 
tific  circles.  It  was  demonstrated  many  years  ago  by  the 
old  mesmerists  who  succeeded  Mesmer  ;  and  if  any  reason¬ 
able  doubt  existed  after  their  demonstrations,  it  has  within 
the  last  decade  been  dispelled  by  the  carefully  conducted 
scientific  experiments  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 
That  Society,  in  addition  to  its  regular  “  Proceedings,”  a 
large  volume  of  which  appears  every  year,  has  caused  to 
be  published  two  large  volumes,  aggregating  over  thirteen 
hundred  pages,  entitled  “  Phantasms  of  the  Living,”  which 
are  filled  with  demonstrative  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
the  power  of  telepathy.  This  work,  however,  is  now  out  of 
print ;  but  it  has  recently  been  ably  supplemented  by  a 
small  volume  by  Frank  Podmore,  one  of  the  secretaries  of 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  which  gives,  in  concise 
form,  a  resume  of  the  evidence  which  has  been  collected 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


221 


by  the  Society  since  its  organization  in  1882.  In  fact,  the 
evidence  is  accumulating  in  every  intelligent  household  in 
the  civilized  world.  Circumstances  innumerable,  which 
were  in  former  times  passed  by  as  curious  coincidences, 
or  were  ascribed  to  supermundane  agency,  are  now  intel¬ 
ligently  observed  and  referred  to  their  proper  source,  since 
science  has  rescued  the  phenomena  from  the  domain  of 
superstition. 

At  first  it  was  supposed  that  the  phenomenon  pertained 
solely  to  the  objective  mind,  and  that  what  the  agent  was 
consciously  thinking  of  was  necessarily  that  which  was  con¬ 
veyed  to  the  mind  of  the  percipient.  But  that  theory  was 
soon  abandoned  in  view  of  constantly  occurring  phenomena 
which  could  not  be  thus  explained.  Thus  it  was  found 
that  thoughts  were  transmitted  which  were  not  consciously 
in  the  agent’s  mind;  and  that,  as  Podmore  observes, — 

“  The  idea  can  be  transferred  from  the  sub-conscious  to  the 
sub-conscious ;  and  indeed  there  is  some  ground  for  thinking 
that,  outside  of  direct  experiment,  the  intervention  of  the  con¬ 
scious  [objective]  mind  in  the  telepathic  transmission  of  thought 
is  exceptional.  Even  in  some  of  the  most  striking  experimental 
cases  it  has  been  shown  that  either  agent  or  percipient,  or  both, 
were  asleep  or  entranced  at  the  time.”1 

These  conclusions,  although  expressed  with  the  caution  of 
the  true  scientist,  are  obviously  correct.  In  telepathic 
experiments  by  means  of  hypnotism,  the  subjective  mind  of 
the  percipient  is  alone  concerned.  Indeed,  all  the  evi¬ 
dence  on  the  subject  goes  to  prove  that  telepathy  is  a  power 
belonging  exclusively  to  the  subjective  mind ;  and  that  in 
the  spontaneous  exercise  of  that  power  it  is  by  mere  acci¬ 
dent  that  the  objective  mind  participates  in,  or  is  cognizant 
of,  either  the  transmission  or  the  reception  of  the  communi¬ 
cation.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  quite  evident  that  telepathic 
communion  is  very  common,  if  not  constant,  between  mem- 


1  Apparitions  and  Thought  Transference,  p.  391. 


222 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


bers  of  the  same  family,  or  those  who  have  a  vital  interest 
in  each  other’s  welfare ;  although  it  is  comparatively  rare 
that  the  content  of  the  communication  is  elevated  above 
the  threshold  of  normal  or  objective  consciousness  of  either 
the  agent  or  the  percipient.  As  I  have  pointed  out  in  the 
chapters  on  spiritism,  it  is  to  the  fact  that  telepathy  is 
purely  a  subjective  power  that  all  the  seeming  mystery  at¬ 
tached  to  so-called  spirit  communications  is  to  be  attributed. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  power  of  telepathy  has 
nothing  in  common  with  objective  methods  of  communica¬ 
tions  between  mind  and  mind ;  and  that  it  is  not  the  prod¬ 
uct  of  muscle  or  nerve  or  any  physiological  combination 
whatever,  but  rather  sets  these  at  naught,  with  their  impli¬ 
cations  of  space  and  time. 


“It  is  a  quality  that  defies  distance,  is  instantaneous,  is  not 
dependent  on  terrestrial  states,  is  most  apparent  in  our  least 
conscious  moods  and  in  our  least  wakeful  hours,  is  strongest  in 
the  undeveloped  intellectually,  is  conspicuous  in  the  moments 
when  organization  is  dissolving,  in  the  hour  of  death,  —  is  cer¬ 
tainly  as  near  to  our  conception  of  soul  as  a  thing  can  be.”  1 


The  ninth  characteristic  of  the  subjective  entity  which 
clearly  differentiates  it  from  the  objective  mind,  in  power, 
function,  and  attribute,  consists  of  the  fact  that  its  activity 
and  power  are  in  inverse  proportion  to  the  vigor  of  the 
body.  This  is  the  most  important  of  all  of  the  distinctive 
differences  between  the  two  minds  or  intelligences,  for  it 
is  not  only  a  strong  argument  for  the  existence  in  man  of  a 
distinct  entity,  but  it  goes  far  towards  proving  that  this 
entity  is  capable  of  sustaining  an  existence  independently 
of  the  body.  If  a  man  has  a  power  that  transcends  the 
senses,  it  is  at  least  presumptive  evidence  that  it  does  not 
perish  when  the  senses  are  extinguished. 

That  the  activity  and  power  of  the  subjective  mind  is 
in  inverse  proportion  to  that  of  the  body,  is  evidenced  by 


1  O.  B  Frothingham,  in  Harper’s  Magazine,  August,  i860,  p.  205. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


223 


every  phenomenon  of  subjective  mental  action.  Beginning 
with  the  simplest  hypnotic  experiment  upon  a  healthy 
subject,  in  the  first  stage  of  subjective  activity  the  physical 
condition  of  the  patient  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from 
the  normal.  Deepen  the  hypnosis,  and  the  subjective  mani¬ 
festations  will  increase  in  power  and  intensity.  Continue 
the  process  until  a  hypnotic  lethargy  is  induced,  and  the 
manifestations  will  continue  to  grow  stronger  in  proportion. 
This  must  be  understood  as  a  general  statement  of  a  con¬ 
dition  which,  within  certain  limits,  varies  with  each  individ¬ 
ual.  There  are,  however,  many  psychics  whose  strongest 
manifestations  are  produced  while  the  body  is  in  an  appar¬ 
ently  normal  condition.  In  fact,  no  general  rule  can  be 
laid  down  which  will  apply  to  all  cases,  except  this,  that, 
the  longer  and  more  persistently  the  production  of  psychic 
phenemena  is  followed  up,  the  weaker  will  become  the 
physical  organism  of  the  psychic.  But  as  this  branch  of 
the  subject  will  be  treated  in  a  future  chapter,  I  will  come 
direct  to  the  salient  point  to  which  I  wish  to  invite  atten¬ 
tion.  It  is  this  :  When  disease  seizes  the  physical  frame 
and  the  body  grows  feeble,  the  objective  mind  invariably 
grows  correspondingly  weak.  Not  so  the  subjective  mind  ; 
for,  as  the  body  grows  weak,  the  subjective  mind  grows 
strong,  and  it  is  strongest  in  the  hour  of  death.  Indeed, 
when  death  approaches,  no  matter  what  form  it  assumes,  the 
moment  its  inevitability  is  realized,  it  is  no  longer  feared, 
and  pain  ceases.  At  that  supreme  moment  the  subjective 
mind  takes  complete  possession,  the  objective  senses  are 
benumbed,  the  body  is  anaesthetized,  and  the  patient  dies,  . 
“without  pain  and  without  regret  ”  (Hammond).  In  the 
mean  time,  as  the  objective  mind  ceases  to  perform  its 
functions,  the  subjective  mind  is  most  active  and  powerful. 
The  individual  may  never  before  have  exhibited  any  psychic 
power,  and  may  never  have  consciously  produced  any 
psychic  phenomena ;  yet  at  the  supreme  moment  his  soul 


224  demonstration  of  the  future  life. 


is  in  active  communion  with  loved  ones  at  a  distance,  and 
the  death  message  is  often,  when  psychic  conditions  are 
favorable,  consciously  received.  The  records  of  telepathy 
demonstrate  this  proposition.  Nay,  more ;  they  may  be 
cited  to  show  that  in  the  hour  of  death  the  soul  is  capable 
of  projecting  a  phantasm  of  such  strength  and  objectivity 
that  it  may  be  an  object  of  sensorial  experience  to  those 
for  whom  it  is  intended.  Moreover,  it  has  happened  that 
telepathic  messages  have  been  sent  by  the  dying,  at  the 
moment  of  dissolution,  giving  all  the  particulars  of  the 
tragedy,  when  the  death  was  caused  by  an  unexpected 
blow  which  crushed  the  skull  of  the  victim.  It  is  obvious 
that  in  such  a  case  it  is  impossible  that  the  objective  mind 
could  have  participated  in  the  transaction.  The  evidence 
is,  indeed,  overwhelming,  that,  no  matter  what  form  death 
may  assume,  whether  caused  by  lingering  disease,  old 
age,  or  violence,  the  subjective  mind  is  never  weakened 
by  its  approach  or  its  presence.  On  the  other  hand,  that 
the  objective  mind  weakens  with  the  body  and  perishes 
with  the  brain,  is  a  fact  confirmed  by  every-day  observation 
and  universal  experience. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

has  man  a  soul?  ( continued ). 


Recapitulation.  —  A  Prima  Facie  Case.  —  Concurrent  and  Antago¬ 
nistic  Hypotheses.  —  The  Law  of  Suggestion.  —  A  Case  of  “  Me- 
diumistic”  Development.  — The  Alleged  Spirit  Control  assumes  a 
Dictatorship.  —  It  develops  a  Passion  for  Music.  —  Music  the 
Language  of  the  Emotions.  —  A  purely  Subjective  Faculty. — 
Subjective  Music  and  Objective  Music  Differentiated.  —  The 
Dual-Mind  Theory. —  Absurdities  Involved  in  the  Single-Mind 
Theory. 

IT  must  now  be  provisionally  assumed  that  it  has  been 
*  proven  that  the  subjective  mind  is  endowed  with 
powers,  and  circumscribed  by  limitations,  which  clearly 
differentiate  it  from  the  objective  mind.  For  convenience 
of  reference  and  facility  of  recollection,  the  following 
recapitulation  is  presented  :  — 

1.  The  subjective  mind  is  constantly  amenable  to  control 
by  the  power  of  suggestion. 

2.  It  is  incapable  of  independent  reasoning  by  the  pro¬ 
cesses  of  induction. 

3.  Its  power  to  reason  deductively  from  given  premises 
to  correct  conclusions  is  practically  perfect. 

4.  It  is  endowed  with  a  perfect  memory. 

5.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  emotions. 

6.  It  possesses  the  power  to  move  ponderable  objects 
without  physical  contact. 

7.  It  has  the  power  to  communicate  and  receive  intelli¬ 
gence  otherwise  than  through  the  recognized  channels  of 
the  senses. 

'5 


22  6 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


8.  Its  activity  and  power  are  inversely  proportionate  to 
the  vigor  and  healthfulness  of  the  physical  organism. 

9.  It  is  endowed  with  the  faculties  of  instinct  and  intui¬ 
tion,  and,  under  certain  conditions,  with  the  power  of 
intuitive  cognition  or  perception  of  the  laws  of  Nature. 

It  needs  no  argument  or  illustration  to  show  that  the 
objective  mind  has  little  in  common  with  the  subjective  in 
any  of  the  foregoing  attributes,  powers,  and  limitations. 
The  objective  mind  (1)  is  manifestly  not  controllable  by 
the  power  of  suggestion  in  the  sense  in  which  the  sub¬ 
jective  mind  is  so  controlled,  —  that  is,  against  reason, 
experience,  and  the  evidence  of  the  senses;  2.  It  is  ca¬ 
pable  of  inductive  reasoning;  3.  Its  power  of  deductive 
reasoning  is  by  no  means  perfect,  nor  does  it  approach 
perfection ;  4.  Its  memory,  in  its  best  estate,  is  very 
defective,  and,  comparatively  speaking,  amounts  to  nothing 
more  than  an  uncertain,  evanescent  ability  to  recall  a 
few  of  the  more  prominent  ideas  and  impressions  which 
it  has  once  experienced;  5.  It  is  absolutely  destitute  of 
emotion ;  6.  It  cannot  exercise  the  slightest  kinetic  force 
beyond  the  range  of  physical  contact ;  7.  It  is  destitute  of 
any  power  remotely  akin  to  telepathy;  8.  The  essential 
prerequisite  to  the  successful  exercise  of  its  highest  powers 
and  functions  is  a  perfectly  sound,  healthy,  normal  physical 
organism ;  9.  It  is  endowed  with  no  power  which  is  re¬ 
motely  akin  to  instinct  or  intuition. 

I  submit  that  the  mental  characteristics  of  no  two  indi¬ 
viduals  ever  presented  a  more  violent  contrast  than  exists 
between  the  objective  and  subjective  minds  of  the  human 
entity,  in  all  their  essential  powers,  functions,  and  limitations. 
I  might  claim  the  logical  right  to  rest  my  case  at  this  point ; 
for  it  must  be  remembered  that  I  have  thus  far  sought  not 
to  prove  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  but  to  demonstrate  the 
fact  that  man  has  a  soul.  In  other  words,  I  have  merely 
sought  to  prove  that  which  I  have  for  convenience  desig- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


227 


nated  the  “  subjective  mind  ”  is  in  reality  the  mind  of  a 
distinct  entity,  and  not  merely  one  set  or  series  of  faculties 
which  perform  their  functions  under  one  condition  of  the 
body,  whilst  another  set  of  faculties  perform  their  functions 
under  other  bodily  conditions.  I  say  I  might  claim  the 
logical  right  to  rest  my  case  here  ;  for  I  submit  that  the 
bare  statement  of  the  facts  which  differentiate  the  two  minds 
constitutes  prirna  facie  evidence  that  they  belong  to  two 
distinct  entities.  The  onus  probandi,  therefore,  rests  with 
those  who  hold  the  materialistic  hypothesis,  that  man  is  a 
soulless  being,  possessing  no  attributes  or  powers  that 
cannot  be  accounted  for  by  reference  to  cerebral  anatomy 
and  physiology.  I  do  not,  however,  intend  to  stop  here, 
but  will  now  proceed  to  show  that  there  is  no  way  of 
rationally  accounting  for  the  facts  other  than  to  predicate 
the  actual  existence  in  mankind  of  an  entity  which,  in  the 
vocabulary  of  spiritual  philosophy,  is  denominated  the  soul. 

The  nature  of  the  question,  broadly  speaking,  admits  of 
but  two  hypotheses.  One  is  that  the  facts  presuppose  the 
existence  of  two  separate  and  distinct  minds,  belonging  to 
two  separate,  or  separable,  entities ;  and  the  other  is  that 
there  is  but  one  mind  having  two  distinct  planes  of  j 
consciousness,  or  two  sets  of  faculties.  One  or  the  other  of 
these  hypotheses  is  the  true  one.  They  cannot  both  be 
true,  and  yet,  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  the  immor¬ 
tality  of  the  soul,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  which  of  the 
two  is  adopted  :  whether  we  consider  man  as  having  two 
distinct  minds,  or  as  having  one  mind  which  manifests 
certain  attributes  and  powers  under  certain  conditions,  and 
other  attributes  and  powers  under  certain  other  conditions, 
provided  only  that  the  crucial  fact  remains  that  certain  of 
those  powers  and  functions  do  not  pertain  to  this  life.  In 
other  words,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  we  employ 
the  words  “dual  mind,”  or  “two  minds,”  or  “two  sets  of 
faculties ;  ”  for  the  same  logical  result  follows,  whatever 


228 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


terminology  may  be  employed  in  the  discussion  of  the 
broad  and  pregnant  fact  that  two  sets  of  faculties  exist  in 
man,  each  possessing  independent  powers,  functions,  and 
limitations.  Facts  are  independent  of  hypotheses.  Facts 
are  primordial.  Hypothesis  is  an  instrument  of  logic  for 
the  scientific  investigation  of  facts.  Hypotheses,  considered 
in  their  relations  to  each  other,  are  divisible  into  two  classes  ; 
namely,  concurrent  and  antagonistic.  Concurrent  hypoth¬ 
eses  are  those  of  which  the  ultimate  conclusions  coincide. 
Antagonistic  hypotheses  are  those  of  which  the  ultimate 
conclusions  are  variant.  It  is  often  a  matter  of  indifference 
which  of  two  concurrent  hypotheses  is  the  correct  one  ;  and 
it  is  often  impossible  to  ascertain  with  certainty  which  is 
scientifically  correct.  It  is,  however,  generally  ascertained, 
sooner  or  later,  by  the  failure  of  one  to  explain  facts  collat¬ 
eral  to  the  main  question,  but  resident  within  its  purview. 
When  that  occurs,  the  true  scientist  will  immediately  resort 
to  the  other,  providing  that  one  explains  all  the  facts. 

The  hypotheses  of  duality  of  mind  on  the  one  hand, 
and  of  unitary  mind  with  two  sets  of  faculties  on  the  other, 
are  illustrations  of  concurrent  hypotheses,  inasmuch  as  their 
ultimate  conclusions  regarding  a  future  life  are  identical ; 
that  is  to  say,  they  are  each  founded  upon  the  one  fact  that 
man  possesses  subjective  faculties  that  perform  no  normal 
function  in  physical  life,  and  objective  faculties  which  can 
perform  no  function  in  spiritual  life.  The  conclusions  are 
necessarily  identical ;  namely,  that  faculties  which  perform 
no  normal  functions  in  this  life  must  necessarily  belong  to  a 
future'dife.  Hence  I  have  remarked,  here  and  elsewhere,1 
that  the  dual  theory  is  not  a  necessary  premise  to  enable  us 
to  arrive  at  correct  ultimate  conclusions.  That  theory,  how¬ 
ever,  will  be  constantly  advanced,  partly  for  the  sake  of 
clearness  of  statement,  but  principally  because  it  is  firmly 
believed  to  be  scientifically  correct.  It  must  be  borne  in 
1  See  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,”  ch.  i. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  229 

mind,  however,  that  one  mind  with  two  sets  of  faculties  is 
virtual  duality ;  especially  if  it  can  be  shown  by  reference  to  j 
anatomy,  as  well  as  by  experimental  surgery,  that  there  are 
actually  existent  two  organs  of  mind.  This  I  shall  proceed 
to  show  in  the  succeeding  chapter.  In  the  mean  time  the  ' 
dual  hypothesis  certainly  explains  all  the  facts,  —  that  is  to 
say,  everything  happens  just  as  though  man  possessed  a  dual 
mind ;  and  that  is  all  that  can  be  required  of  a  working 
hypothesis. 

The  spiritistic  hypothesis  as  opposed  to  the  telepathic  is 
a  fair  example  of  antagonistic  hypotheses  ;  for  the  conclusions 
are  variant,  and  so  are  the  hypotheses.  I  speak  of  spiritism 
as  an  “  hypothesis,”  although  it  is  hardly  deserving  of  that 
designation ;  for  it  is,  in  fact,  merely  a  short  and  easy 
method  of  avoiding,  rather  than  promoting,  a  truly  scientific 
investigation  of  the  subject-matter.  But,  such  as  it  is,  it  is 
an  exceedingly  convenient  hypothesis ;  and,  for  the  use  of 
those  who  imagine  that  simplicity  is  a  test  of  truth,  it  is 
admirably  adapted.  It  is  a  summary  way  of  disposing  of  an 
intricate  problem,  —  of  avoiding  a  difficulty  instead  of 
investigating  its  cause.  It  should  be  constantly  borne  in 
mind  that  an  hypothesis  is  not  a  final  dogma.  It  is,  as 
before  remarked,  merely  an  instrument  of  investigation.  To 
establish  it  as.  a  scientific  truth,  there  are  two  prerequisites  : 

1.  It  must  explain  all  the  facts;  2.  There  must  be  no 
other  hypothesis  capable  of  explaining  all  the  facts.  When 
these  conditions  are  present,  then,  and  not  till  then,  is  an 
hypothesis  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  a  scientific  truth,  an 
established  principle,  a  theorem. 

I  have  made  the  foregoing  remarks,  at  some  risk  of  repe¬ 
tition,  for  the  reason  that  I  desire  the  reader  to  keep  con¬ 
stantly  in  mind  the  fundamental  principles  of  scientific 
investigation,  and  for  the  further  reason  that  I  desire  him 
to  measure  the  value  of  my  arguments,  past  and  future,  by 
the  highest  known  standards  of  scientific  inquiry. 


230 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


We  will  now  briefly  consider  the  nine  propositions  which 
set  forth  the  salient  characteristics  of  the  subjective  mind, 
and  which  seem  to  warrant  us  in  postulating  the  dual-mind 
hypothesis. 

The  first  in  the  order  of  statement  as  well  as  of  importance 
relates  to  the  law  of  suggestion.  When  that  law  was  first 
discovered,  its  full  import  was  not  realized.  As  I  have 
heretofore  pointed  out,  it  was  discovered  in  the  course  of 
scientific  experiments  on  hypnotic  subjects,  and  it  was,  con¬ 
sequently,  regarded  as  a  law  pertaining  exclusively  to  experi¬ 
mental  hypnotism.  As  long  as  the  law  was  supposed  to  be 
confined  to  that  narrow  field  of  operation,  the  dual  hy¬ 
pothesis  was  unnecessary ;  for  most  of  the  phenomena  of 
experimental  hypnotism  could  be  accounted  for  on  the 
theory  that  in  the  artificially  induced  hypnotic  state  the 
mind  of  the  subject  could  be  dominated  by  the  sugges¬ 
tions  of  the  hypnotist.  But  when  it  was  discovered  that 
the  law  of  suggestion  is  the  dominating  principle  which 
gives  character  and  direction  to  all  psychic  phenomena,  it 
was  found  that  the  single-mind  theory  was  inadequate.  And 
this  inadequacy  became  more  marked  when  it  was  discov¬ 
ered  that  a  psychic  can  control  his  own  subjective  manifes¬ 
tations  by  exercising  the  power  now  known  and  recognized 
in  the  scientific  world  as  “  auto-suggestion.”  When  this 
power  is  fully  realized,  it  will  be  found  to  be  demonstrative 
of  the  dual  hypothesis,  in  that  it  fully  and  easily  explains  all 
the  facts ;  whereas  the  single-mind  theory  is  adequate  to 
explain  but  very  few,  and  the  few  that  it  can  account  for 
are  of  the  least  possible  significance.  As  a  single  illustra¬ 
tive  instance  where  the  single- mind  theory  fails,  it  may  be 
remarked  that  it  has  again  and  again  been  demonstrated 
that,  by  persistent  auto-suggestion,  the  objective  mind  can 
control  the  subjective  in  direct  contravention,  not  only  to 
the  beliefs,  but  to  the  positive  knowledge  of  the  former. 
Again,  it  is  well  known  that,  under  the  influence  of  sugges- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


231 


tion,  the  subjective  mind  will  not  only  assume  control,  but 
will  act  in  direct  opposition  to  the  volition  of  the  objective 
mind.  An  illustrative  case  has  been  brought  to  my  atten¬ 
tion  as  I  write.  A  gentleman  of  this  city  had  been  in¬ 
duced  to  join  a  “developing  circle”  of  spiritists  who 
desired  to  establish  a  direct  and  independent  line  of  com¬ 
munication  with  the  other  world.  He  very  soon  developed 
the  power  of  automatic  writing,  and  some  very  remarkable 
results  ensued.  As  might  have  been  expected,  the  power 
which  moved  his  hand  to  write  told  him  many  things  which 
he  did  not  objectively  know,  and  gave  many  remarkable 
exhibitions  of  power  which  constituted  conclusive  evidence 
to  his  mind  of  spirit  identity  and  of  the  truth  of  the  spirit¬ 
istic  hypothesis.  But  the  remarkable  feature  of  the  case 
was  that  it  soon  began  to  assume  a  sort  of  dictatorship  over 
his  daily  conduct,  and  on  lines  which  he  had  least  reason  to 
anticipate.  For  instance,  although  he  was  not  particularly 
devoted  to  music,  yet  his  “control”  insisted  on  being 
taken  to  concerts,  oftentimes  to  his  great  inconvenience. 
When  the  “control”  desired  any  indulgence,  the  gentle¬ 
man  was  apprised  of  the  fact  by  feeling  a  decided  sensa¬ 
tion  in  his  right  arm  and  hand,  which  sensation  the  gentleman 
soon  learned  to  recognize  as  evincing  a  desire  on  the  part 
of  his  “control”  to  communicate  in  writing.  He  often 
felt  the  impulse  while  walking  the  streets,  and,  upon  being 
furnished  a  tablet  and  pencil,  the  “control”  would  direct 
him  to  go,  perhaps  to  an  adjoining  street,  to  listen  to  a 
hand-organ.  Sometimes  it  would  ask  for  indulgences  which 
were  decidedly  out  of  harmony  with  the  settled  moral  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  gentleman’s  life ;  and  so  persistent  were  the 
requests  that  he  was  finally  obliged  to  refuse  to  allow  any 
communication  in  writing  except  on  condition  that  those 
subjects  should  be  tabooed.  Fortunately  the  gentleman 
had  not  gone  so  far  as  to  cease  to  desire  to  resist  the 
subjective  impulses;  and  he  saw  his  danger  in  time  to 


23  2 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


avoid  its  consequences.  He  had  a  superficial  acquaintance 
with  the  law  of  suggestion  and  the  theory  of  a  subjective 
personality,  but  could  not  harmonize  his  experiences  with 
that  hypothesis.  “  The  ‘  control  ’  acted  with  perfect  inde¬ 
pendence,”  he  reasoned,  “  and  frequently  in  decided  op¬ 
position  to  my  wishes,  —  that  is,  to  the  suggestions  of  my 
objective  mind.  How  could  that  occur  if  the  law  of  sug¬ 
gestion  controls  the  subjective  mind?  ”  The  answer  is  easy 
and  perfect.  The  first  and  ever  dominant  suggestion  in  his 
mind  was  that  the  “  control  ”  was  a  spirit  from  the  other 
world.  His  whole  environment,  during  the  time  of  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  power  of  automatic  writing,  was  such  as 
to  force  that  suggestion  upon  his  mind.  He  was  in  a 
“  circle  ”  organized  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  communi¬ 
cations  from  spirits  of  the  dead  ;  and  all  the  communica¬ 
tions  were  received  under  that  suggestion.  The  “  control,” 
therefore,  was  assumed  from  the  start  to  be  an  extraneous, 
independent,  dominant,  irresponsible  power,  which  the 
medium  could  in  no  wise  control  or  direct.  That  was 
the  primary  “  suggestion  ”  under  which  the  “  control  ” 
acted ;  and  it  necessarily  carried  out  that  suggestion  by 
acting  the  part  assigned  to  it.  Of  course,  the  idea  never 
occurred  to  the  gentleman  that  the  very  fact  that  the  so- 
called  spirit  insisted  on  being  taken  to  a  concert  was 
demonstrative  that  the  intelligence  was  his  own,  and  was 
inseparable  from  his  physical  organism  for  the  time  being. 
If  it  had  been  a  foreign  spirit  possessing  the  powers  as¬ 
cribed  to  such  spirits,  it  would  seem  that  it  could  have 
heard  the  concert  without  the  necessity  of  making  a  draft 
upon  the  gentleman’s  purse  or  his  time.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  the  very  vocabulary  of  spiritistic  circles  conveys  the 
suggestion  that  the  communicating  intelligence  is  in  “con¬ 
trol  ”  of  the  medium.  If  it  did  not  act  accordingly,  and 
assume  the  right  to  control  the  medium,  often  in  oppo¬ 
sition  to  subsequent  suggestions,  the  law  of  suggestion 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  233 

would  have  no  place  in  the  science  of  experimental 
psychology. 

I  have,  of  course,  assumed  that  the  “  control  ”  in  this 
case  was  the  gentleman’s  own  subjective  mind,  and  that  the 
phenomena  were  produced  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
laws  which  govern  all  subjective  mental  activity.  Indeed, 
the  phenomena  are  illustrative  of  those  laws  and  principles 
in  more  than  one  sense  of  the  word.  As  we  have  already 
seen,  they  illustrate  one  of  the  most  subtle  and  intricate 
phases  of  the  operation  of  the  universal  law  of  suggestion. 
They  also  incidentally  illustrate  a  phase  of  subjective  mental 
characteristics  to  which  as  yet  little  attention  has  been  given 
by  students  of  experimental  psychology  ;  namely,  the  power 
of  music  over  the  subjective  mind.  Some  attention  was 
given  to  it  in  my  former  work ; 1  and  Dr.  Aldred  S.  Warthin, 
Ph.  D.,  M.  D.,  of  the  Michigan  University,  has  made  some 
very  interesting  experiments  —  as  yet  incomplete,  however 
—  illustrative  of  “  Some  Physiologic  Effects  of  Music  in 
Hypnotized  Subjects,”  to  which  I  have  alluded  in  a  former 
chapter.  Chomet,  a  French  author,  has  also  written  a  work 
entitled  “  Effets  et  Influence  de  la  Musique  sur  la  Sant£  et 
sur  la  Maladie  ;  ”  and  Vigna,  an  Italian,  has  given  us  “  Sull’ 
importanza  fisiologica  e  terapeutica  della  Musica.”  Little 
advance,  however,  has  been  made  in  the  study  of  the  phys¬ 
iological  effects  of  music,  although  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  field  offers  rich  results  to  the  student  who  will  give 
patient  and  intelligent  attention  to  that  line  of  experimental 
investigation.  It  will  probably  be  found,  however,  that  the 
physiologic  effects  are  due  to  reflex  action  of  the  emotions 
upon  the  physical  system,  and  not  to  any  direct  vibratory 
action  upon  the  nerves.  It  should  therefore  first  be 
studied  as  a  psychological  problem. 

Music  has  been  loosely  described,  by  those  who  recognize 
its  subjective  origin,  as  “  a  passion  of  the  human  soul.” 

1  See  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,”  ch.  vi. 


234 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


This  is  not  scientifically  correct.  It  may  properly  be  de¬ 
scribed,  however,  as  being  at  once  the  minister  a?id  inter¬ 
preter  of  every  emotion  and  every  passion  of  the  human 
soul.  It  is  purely  subjective  ;  that  is  to  say,  all  good  music 
is  a  product  of  the  subjective  mind.  It  is  true  that  the 
objective  mind  is  capable  of  directing  the  muscles  so  as  to 
play,  and  play  correctly,  an  intricate  piece  of  music.  It  is 
also  true  that  a  machine  can  be  constructed  upon  which  any 
one  who  can  turn  a  crank  can  correctly  play  the  same  piece 
of  music.  The  sounds  in  the  two  cases  are  identical  in 
character,  —  hard,  mechanical,  soulless.  It  is  only  when 
the  muscles  have  been  trained  to  the  point  of  automatism, 
to  use  the  common  phraseology,  or,  speaking  with  scientific 
precision,  it  is  only  when  the  subjective  mind  directs  the 
movements  of  the  fingers  so  perfectly  that  the  objective 
mind  can  employ  itself  with  other  thoughts,  that  true  music 
can  be  produced,  the  emotions  of  the  musician’s  soul  ex¬ 
pressed,  or  the  passions  of  the  listener  made  to  respond. 
Mechanical  music,  whether  played  by  a  man  or  a  machine, 
can  never  inspire  the  human  soul  with  emotions  of  love  or 
of  patriotism,  or  lead  the  warrior  to  face  the  cannon’s 
mouth,  unless,  indeed,  the  hearer’s  subjective  mind  by  its 
interpretive  power  supplies  the  missing  stimulus.  Even 
the  diabolical  sounds  of  a  bagpipe,  when  that  instrument 
is  tortured  by  an  inspired  native,  will  move  the  soul  of  a 
Scotchman  to  a  frenzy  of  patriotism. 

To  say  that  the  difference  consists,  not  in  the  instrument 
that  is  played,  but  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  played,  would  be 
a  trite  and  commonplace  observation.  The  true  explanation 
possesses  a  far  deeper  significance.  The  difference  between 
good  and  poor  music,  or  rather  between  real  music  and  its 
counterfeit,  is  determined  by  the  source  from  which  each 
emanates.  Music  has  its  origin  in  the  subjective  mind.  It 
is  the  language  of  the  soul,  and  is  expressive  of  its  every 
passion  and  emotion.  Like  the  song  of  the  bird,  it  is  the 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


235 


cry  of  love,  longing,  passion,  hope.  It  may  also  be  the  wail 
of  despondency  and  despair,  if  what  the  Latin  poet  tells  us 
be  true,  — 


“  Dulcia  defecta  modulatur  carmina  lingua, 

Cantatur  cygnus,  funeris  ipse  sui.” 

In  short,  it  is  the  most  subtle  medium  provided  by  Nature 
whereby  soul  can  speak  to  soul  that  language  of  the  emotions 
which  cannot,  by  a  kindred  soul,  be  misinterpreted. 

Its  primary  function  is  to  give  expression  to  those  emo¬ 
tions  which  constitute  the  motive  force  in  the  perpetuation 
of  the  species.  It  is  the  language  of  love.  Like  every 
other  faculty  of  the  soul,  it  has  its  normal  functions  and 
its  abnormal  manifestations.  It  is,  necessarily,  as  foreign 
to  the  objective  mind  as  are  the  emotions  to  which  it  gives 
expression. 

But  this  is  a  digression.  It  has  been  indulged  in  partly 
for  the  reason  that  I  desire,  incidentally,  to  give  to  music 
its  proper  place  in  the  classification  of  subjective  phenom¬ 
ena  (for  I  shall  have  more  to  say  on  the  subject  hereafter)  ; 
and  partly  because  it  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
two-mind  theory.  Primarily,  however,  my  object  in  citing 
the  case  was  to  give  a  fair  illustration  of  the  subtle  and  intri¬ 
cate  workings  of  the  law  of  suggestion,  and  to  point  out 
some  of  the  sources  of  error  against  which  it  is  necessary 
constantly  to  guard.  In  concluding  this  branch  of  the  sub¬ 
ject  it  is  only  necessary  to  remark  that  it  seems  obvious, 
even  at  this  stage  of  the  argument,  that  whilst  the  two-mind 
theory  certainly  affords  an  ample  explanation  of  all  the  facts 
of  suggestion,  the  theory  of  a  single  mind  is  totally  inade¬ 
quate  for  the  purpose,  unless  we  assume  two  sets  of  faculties, 
which  amounts,  practically,  to  duality.  It  is  difficult,  how¬ 
ever,  to  argue  a  self-evident  proposition ;  and  one  is  some¬ 
times  compelled  to  draw  attention  to  the  absurdities  involved 
in  its  opposite.  In  the  question  under  consideration,  for 


236 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


instance,  the  bare  presentation  of  the  facts  of  auto-sugges¬ 
tion  compels  assent  to  the  two-mind  theory  as  a  self-evident 
solution  of  the  problem.  And  yet,  for  the  present  assuming 
that  a  physical  demonstration  is  impossible,  it  may  not  be 
unprofitable  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  ab¬ 
surdities  involved  in  the  one-mind  theory.  To  that  end  let 
us  state  the  essential  proposition  relating  to  the  phenomena 
of  auto-suggestion  which  the  one-mind  theory  necessarily 
presupposes  to  be  true.  It  is  this  :  “  One  mind  is  able,  by 
auto-suggestion,  to  convince  itself  of  the  truth  of  a  propo¬ 
sition  which  it  knows  to  be  false.”  It  will  at  once  be  seen, 
not  only  that  the  proposition  involves  a  palpable  absurdity, 
but  it  also  involves  a  positive  contradiction  in  terms.  Now, 
there  is  no  rule  of  logic  more  manifestly  and  self-evidently 
valid  than  that  a  proposition  involving  a  positive  contra¬ 
diction  in  terms  is  necessarily  false.  And  yet,  if  we  are  to 
accept  the  one-mind  theory  as  the  true  one,  we  must  be 
prepared  to  accept  as  true  a  proposition  which,  by  its  very 
terms,  is  absolutely  untrue.  Nevertheless,  in  one  sense  of 
the  word,  it  is  true  that  an  individual  (mark  the  distinction) 
may,  by  auto-suggestion,  convince  himself  of  the  truth  of  a 
proposition  which  he  knows  to  be  false ;  but  that  is  an  ab¬ 
surdly  loose  and  unscientific  way  of  stating  the  proposition. 
Stated  as  follows,  it  is  manifestly  true  :  “  The  objective  mind 
of  an  individual  may,  by  auto-suggestion,  convince  his  sub¬ 
jective  mind  that  a  proposition  is  true,  which  proposition 
his  objective  mind  knows  to  be  false.”  The  proposition, 
thus  stated,  will  receive  the  instant  assent  of  every  alienist 
who  has  intelligently  studied  the  facts  of  experimental  psy¬ 
chology.  He  will  at  least  agree  that,  considered  as  a  working 
hypothesis  for  the  systematic  study  of  the  problems  of  in¬ 
sanity,  the  dual-mind  theory  is  perfect.  I  submit  that  a 
perfect  working  hypothesis  is  necessarily  a  true  one. 

The  next  proposition  in  the  order  of  statement  is  that 
“  the  subjective  mind  is  incapable  of  independent  reason- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


2  37 


ing  by  the  processes  of  induction.”  This,  as  before  stated, 
is  a  corollary  of  the  law  of  suggestion ;  and  much  of  what 
has  been  said  will  apply  with  equal  force  to  this  proposition. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  dual  hypothesis  affords  the  only  solu¬ 
tion  of  the  problem ;  for  it  is  manifestly  unthinkable  that 
one  mind  can  at  once  be  capable  and  incapable  of  induc¬ 
tive  reasoning. 

The  third  proposition,  which  relates  to  the  power  of  the 
subjective  mind  to  reason  deductively  from  given  premises 
to  correct  conclusions,  may  be  dismissed  with  the  statement 
that  it  is  not  set  down  as  one  of  the  powers  which  differen¬ 
tiate  the  two  minds  by  antithesis.  The  difference  is  only  in 
degree ;  but  it  is  so  enormous  that  it  must  be  held  to  be 
cumulative  evidence  of  duality. 

The  same  remarks  apply  with  even  greater  force  to  the 
fourth  proposition,  which  relates  to  the  perfect  memory  of 
the  subjective  mind.  Its  prodigious  positive  power  in  that 
direction,  when  compared  with  the  feeble  efforts  at  recol¬ 
lection  of  the  objective  mind,  has  all  the  effect  of  contrast, 
and  must  be  considered  as  an  important  factor  in  the  prob¬ 
lem  of  duality.  It  is  certainly  difficult  to  imagine  one 
mind  as  being  possessed  of  two  sets,  as  it  were,  of  faculties, 
with  identical  functions  differing  only  in  degree,  whilst  the 
more  perfect  of  the  two  is  observable  only  under  abnormal 
conditions  of  the  body. 

The  fifth  and  sixth  propositions,  relating,  respectively, 
to  the  emotional  nature  of  the  subjective  mind,  and  to  its 
power  of  moving  ponderable  objects  without  physical  con¬ 
tact,  have  been  sufficiently  discussed  already.  The  seventh 
and  eighth  propositions,  relating,  respectively,  to  telepathy 
and  the  abnormality  of  subjective  activity,  can  be  more 
appropriately  discussed  in  forthcoming  chapters.  In  the 
mean  time  it  can  be  truthfully  said  that  the  distinctive 
characteristics  embraced  in  the  four  propositions  last 
named,  present  in  themselves  indubitable  evidence  of  the 


238  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


truth  of  the  dual  hypothesis,  in  that  there  is  no  other 
rational  way  of  accounting  for  all  the  varied  phenomena 
which  they  represent. 

The  ninth  proposition  will  be  discussed  in  a  separate 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

DUALITY  DEMONSTRATED  BY  ANATOMY. 


The  Brain  not  the  Sole  Organ  of  the  Mind.  —  Surgeon-General 
Hammond’s  Researches  and  Experiments.  —  The  Instinctive 
Faculties.  —  The  Subjective  Mind  acts  independently  of  the 
Brain.  —  Instinctive  Acts  Performed  after  the  Brain  was  totally 
eliminated.  —  Children  Born  without  a  Brain  perform  all  the  In¬ 
stinctive  Functions. — The  Medulla  Oblongata  and  the  Spinal 
Cord  the  Organs  of  the  Subjective  Mind.  —  Idiots  without  a  Brain 
evince  Talent  for  Music,  Mathematics,  etc. 

'""THUS  far  the  proofs  adduced  in  support  of  the  dual 
^  hypothesis  have  been  confined  to  the  facts  of  ex¬ 
perimental  hypnotism  and  the  various  other  forms  of 
psychic  phenomena.  This  has  been  done  for  the  reason 
that  in  themselves  those  facts  are  amply  demonstrative 
of  the  truth  of  the  hypothesis.  But  it  has  often  been 
asked  if  the  facts  of  cerebral  anatomy,  physiology,  or 
experimental  surgery  throw  any  light  whatever  upon  the 
subject.  This  is  a  pertinent  question,  because,  if  those 
facts  are  irreconcilable  with  the  hypothesis,  the  latter  must 
fail  under  the  inexorable  rule  that  one  clearly  demon¬ 
strated  adverse  fact  is  sufficient  to  disprove  the  most 
plausible  hypothesis.  If,  therefore,  the  dual  hypothesis 
is  the  true  one,  all  the  facts  of  Nature,  whether  of  psychic 
phenomena  or  of  physical  structure,  must  conspire  to 
demonstrate  it.  At  least,  there  must  be  no  fact  that  will 
disprove  it.  Thus,  if  it  could  be  clearly  demonstrated 
that  the  brain  is  the  sole  organ  of  the  mind,  the  hypothesis 
of  duality  must  fail  for  want  of  a  plurality  of  organs  through 


240 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


which  a  second  mind  could  manifest  itself.  It  is  true  that 
the  brain  itself  is  dual  in  a  purely  physical  sense,  —  that 
is,  there  are  two  hemispheres ;  but  it  is  demonstrable 
that  they  are  duplicate  organs  of  the  same  mind.  There 
is  no  evidence  (except  in  novels J)  that  the  two  hemi¬ 
spheres  are  not  identical  in  function  and  normally  syn¬ 
chronous  in  action. 

If,  therefore,  duality  of  mind  is  to  be  demonstrated  by 
reference  to  the  physical  structure  of  the  animal  man,  we 
must  expect  to  find  an  organ  for  one  of  the  minds  outside 
of  the  brain  and  measurably  independent  of  its  conditions 
or  even  of  its  existence.  It  must,  moreover,  be  the  organ 
of  the  subjective  .mind  ;  for  it  is  demonstrable  that  the  brain 
is  the  organ  of  the  objective  faculties.  The  organ  of  the 
subjective  mind  must,  therefore,  be  the  organ  of  the  instinc¬ 
tive  faculties.  If  it  is  the  organ  of  the  instinctive  faculties, 
it  is  necessarily  the  organ  of  the  faculties  of  intuition  and 
all  the  others  which  have  been  designated  as  subjective. 

Fortunately  we  have  not  far  to  look  for  demonstrative 
evidence  that  the  required  organ  exists,  not  only  in  man, 
but  in  the  lower  animals  as  well.  In  support  of  this 
declaration  I  shall  now  cite  some  passages  from  the  writ¬ 
ings  of  one  of  the  ablest  living  scientists  ;  namely,  Surgeon- 
General  Hammond.  What  he  has  said  on  the  subject 
was  written  without  reference  to  the  dual  hypothesis,  and 
certainly  without  reference  to  its  bearings  upon  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  a  future  life.  It  has,  therefore,  all  the  greater 
evidential  value,  for  that  it  was  written  solely  in  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  pure  science,  and  by  one  whose  professional  reputa¬ 
tion  as  an  alienist  is  international,  whose  works  have  been 
translated  into  every  modern  language,  and  are  used  as  text¬ 
books  by  the  medical  profession  in  every  civilized  country. 

More  than  twenty  years  ago  Dr.  Hammond  delivered  an 
address  before  the  New  York  Neurological  Society,  entitled 
1  See  “  The  Hoosier  Schoolmaster.” 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


241 


“The  Brain  not  the  Sole  Organ  of  the  Mind,”  in  which  he 
demonstrated  his  thesis  by  a  collection  of  authorities,  by 
original  experiments,  and  by  arguments  which  have  never 
been  successfully  controverted.  In  one  of  his  later  works  1 
he  has  incorporated  the  gist  of  that  address  in  a  chapter 
entitled  “  The  Seat  of  Instinct.”  It  is  from  the  latter  work 
that  I  make  the  following  extracts  :  — 

“  The  brain  of  man  is  more  highly  developed  than  that  of 
any  other  animal ;  he  has  reasoning  powers  in  excess  of  those 
possessed  by  any  living  being ;  his  mind  governs  the  world, 
and,  not  content  with  that,  seeks  for  knowledge  of  those  spheres 
beyond  that  in  which  he  dwells.  But,  with  all  this,  he  is  sur¬ 
passed  by  almost  every  other  animal  in  the  ability  to  perform 
acts  instinctively,  —  by  beings,  in  fact,  whose  brains  are  infinitely 
less  perfect  than  his,  and  by  others  which  have  no  organs  cor- 
sponding  to  a  brain. 

“  If  the  instinct  of  man  were  seated  in  his  brain,  he  would  ! 
doubtless  exhibit  a  development  of  this  faculty  so  great  as  to 
place  him  on  that  score  as  high  as  he  now  stands  as  regards 
nis  mind. 

“  Going  back,  for  the  present,  to  some  of  the  lower  animals, 
we  find  that  we  are  able,  by  certain  experimental  procedures, 
to  settle  some  points  relative  to  the  seat  of  instinct  with  abso¬ 
lute  certainty. 

“  1.  It  does  not  reside  exclusively  in  the  brain.  The  brain  of 
many  animals,  especially  of  those  belonging  to  the  class  of 
reptiles,  can  be  removed  without  the  animal  suffering  any  very 
considerable  immediate  inconvenience.  In  such  cases  the 
instinct  remains  unimpaired.  Thus  Maine  de  Biran  states  ^ 
that,  according  to  Perrault,  a  viper,  the  head  of  which  had 
been  cut  off,  moved  without  deviation  to  its  hole  in  the  wall. 

It  is  impossible  that  the  viper  could  have  seen,  heard,  smelt, 
tasted,  or  felt  the  wall.  It  could  only  have  gone  toward  it 
instinctively,  through  the  action  of  a  force  not  residing  in  its 
brain,  and  altogether  independent  of  perception. 

“  It  is  an  instinct  in  certain  animals  to  swim  when  placed  in 
water.  I  removed  the  entire  brain  of  a  frog,  and,  after  waiting 
a  few  minutes  for  the  animal  to  recover  from  the  shock  of  the 
operation,  I  placed  it  in  a  tub  of  water.  It  immediately  began 

1  A  Treatise  on  Insanity:  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1S83.  Ch.  ii. 

16 


242 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


to  swim.  I  held  my  hand  so  that  the  animal’s  head  would 
come  in  contact  with  it,  and  thus  further  progress  be  prevented. 
Continued  efforts  to  swim  were  made  for  a  few  seconds,  and 
then  ceased.  Removing  my  hand,  the  animal  again  swam. 


“  I  have  repeatedly  performed  similar  experiments  with 
turtles  of  various  kinds,  and  lately  with  water-snakes.  In  all 
these  cases  the  whole  brain  was  removed  from  the  cranium, 
yet  the  animals  did  not  wobble  about  aimlessly  in  the  water, 
but  swam  straight  out  into  the  stream  or  pond,  apparently  with 
as  complete  a  purpose  to  escape  as  though  they  still  possessed 
the  full  degree  of  consciousness  of  the  unmutilated  animals. 

“  Such  experiments  show,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  perception 
and  volition  are  not  seated  exclusively  in  the  brain,  and  thus 
that  instinct  is  not  indissolubly  connected  with  that  organ. 

“  It  is  impossible  to  make  similar  investigations  in  the  higher 
animals  with  such  definite  results  as  those  obtained  with  rep¬ 
tiles,  but  we  may  call  to  mind  the  fact  familiar  to  all  physiolo¬ 
gists,  and  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  an  earlier  part 
of  this  work,  of  the  behavior  of  a  pigeon  the  brain  of  which  had 
been  removed.  Though  in  such  a  case  most  of  the  actions  are 
the  result  of  perception,  yet  some,  as  for  instance  the  act  of 
flying  when  it  is  thrown  into  the  air,  are  purely  instinctive. 
But  Nature  has  performed  many  experiments  for  us,  and  these 
not  only  on  the  lower  animals,  but  also  on  man,  which  teach  us 
conclusively  that  even  in  him  instinct  does  not  reside  in  brain. 
They  show ,  too ,  that  certain  faculties  of  the  mind  are  not  con¬ 
fined  to  that  organ  ;  but  with  that  fact  we  need  not  at  present 
concern  ourselves.  [The  italics  are  mine.] 

“  In  certain  monsters  born  without  a  brain,  or  with  impor¬ 
tant  parts  of  this  organ  absent,  we  have  interesting  examples  of 
the  persistence  of  instinct.  Syme  describes  one  of  these  beings 
which  lived  for  six  months.  Though  very  feeble,  it  had  the 
faculty  of  sucking,  and  the  several  functions  of  the  body 
appeared  to  be  well  performed.  Its  eyes  clearly  perceived  the 
light,  and  during  the  night  it  cried  if  the  candle  was  allowed  to 
go  out.  After  death  the  cranium  was  opened,  and  there  was 
found  to  be  an  entire  absence  of  the  cerebrum,  the  place  of 
which  was  occupied  by  a  quantity  of  serous  fluid  contained  in 
the  arachnoid.  The  cerebellum  and  pons  Varolii  were  present. 


“  Ollivier  d’Angers  describes  a  monster  of  the  female  sex 
which  lived  twenty  hours.  It  cried,  and  could  suck  and 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  243 

swallow.  There  was  no  brain,  but  the  spinal  cord  and  medulla 
oblongata  were  well  developed. 

“  Saviard  relates  the  particulars  of  a  case  in  which  there  were 
no  cerebrum,  cerebellum,  or  any  other  intra-cranial  ganglion. 
The  spinal  cord  began  as  a  little  red  tumor  on  a  level  with  the 
foramen  magnum.  Yet  this  being  opened  and  shut  its  eyes, 
cried,  sucked,  and  even  ate  broth.  It  lived  four  days.  Some 
of  these  movements  were  reflex,  but  others  were  clearly  instinc¬ 
tive,  and  adapted  to  the  preservation  of  life. 

“Dubois,  on  the  authority  of  Professor  Lallemand,  of  Mont¬ 
pellier,  cites  the  case  of  a  fetus,  born  at  full  term,  in  which  the 
cerebrum  and  cerebellum  were  entirely  absent.  There  were  no 
ganglionic  bodies  within  the  cranium,  but  the  medulla  oblongata 
and  the  pons  Varolii.  This  fetus  lived  three  days;  during  all 
this  time  it  uttered  cries,  exercised  suction  movements  when 
anything  was  put  into  its  mouth,  and  moved  the  limbs.  It  was 
nourished  with  milk  and  sweetened  water,  for  no  nurse  would 
give  it  her  breast.  Dubois  cites  another  case,  on  the  authority 
of  Spessa  of  Treviso,  of  a  child  born  without  cerebrum,  cere¬ 
bellum,  or  medulla  oblongata,  and  which  lived  eleven  hours. 
It  cried,  breathed,  and  moved  its  limbs,  but  it  did  not  suck.  It 
is  difficult  to  say  of  this  case  to  what  extent  its  movements  were 
instinctive,  and  to  what  extent  reflex. 

“  But  all  these  instances,  as  well  as  the  experiments  referred 
to  as  having  been  performed  on  lower  animals,  show  that 
instinct  does  not  reside  in  the  brain. 

“2.  It  is  sea  tat  exclusively  in  the  medulla  oblongata ,  or  in 
the  spinal  cord,  or  in  both  these  organs.  The  observations 
made  and  experiments  cited  under  the  immediately  preceding 
head,  apparently  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  medulla 
oblongata,  or  spinal  cord,  or  both  the  organs,  may  be  the  seat 
of  instinct ;  and  further  inquiry  shows  that  this  view  is  as  correct 
as  that  which  associates  the  brain  with  the  mind.” 

Dr.  Hammond  then  goes  on  at  length  to  cite  many 
intensely  interesting  experiments  of  his  own,  demonstrating 
the  marvellous  strength  and  persistency  of  instinctive  acts 
and  emotions  after  all  the  intra-cranial  ganglia  were  com¬ 
pletely  removed.  He  closes  the  chapter  as  follows  :  — 

“In  microcephali  and  other  human  idiots  the  instincts  are 
sometimes  exceedingly  strong,  and  remain  so  through  life.  I 


244  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

have  already  referred  to  the  instance  of  one  of  these  creatures, 
an  adult  woman,  holding  a  rag-baby  in  her  arms  as  though  it 
were  a  child,  and  in  whom  the  maternal  instinct  must  have 
been  strong,  and  entirely  uncontrolled  by  the  intellect.  Some 
idiots  also  evince  a  great  instinctive  talent  for  music,  and  for 
arithmetical  calculations,  which,  although  capable  of  develop¬ 
ment,  as  are  other  instincts,  are  nevertheless  innate. 

“From  these  facts,  and  many  others  which  might  be  adduced 
in  a  work  specially  directed  to  the  consideration  of  the  many 
interesting  points  involved,  I  think  it  may  be  concluded  that 
instinct  has  at  least  its  chief,  if  not  its  only,  seat  in  the  medulla 
oblongata  and  spinal  cord,  ft  is  possible  that  the  cerebrum, 
the  cerebellum,  and  the  pons  Varolii  have  some  influence  in 
strengthening  the  faculty;  but  this  is  not  essential,  and  its 
exercise  is  not  a  mental  operation.” 

It  will  now  be  seen  that  the  hypothesis  of  a  dual  mind 
is  sustained  not  alone  by  the  phenomena  evoked  by  ex¬ 
perimental  hypnotism,  but  by  the  physical  structure  of  man 
himself,  as  well  as  of  the  whole  animal  creation.  It  will 
also  be  observed  that  whether  we  assume  two  distinct 
minds,  or  one  mind  with  two  distinct  sets  of  faculties,  the 
logical  results  are  the  same.  Moreover,  if  there  is  but  one 
mind,  it  is  dual  nevertheless.  It  is  dual  in  its  organism  ;  it 
is  dual  in  its  functions ;  it  is  dual  in  its  faculties ;  and  all 
the-  logical  conclusions  derivable  from  the  hypothesis  of 
two  minds  are  also  derivable  from  the  hypotheses  of  one 
mind  with  a  dual  organism.  There  is,  indeed,  one  argu¬ 
ment  for  continued  existence  in  the  single-mind  theory 
which  applies  with  somewhat  diminished  force  to  the  theory 
of  duality ;  for  it  may  be  plausibly  argued  that,  if  the  mind 
can  survive  the  destruction  of  one  of  its  organs,  there  is  no 
good  reason  why  it  may  not  survive  the  demolition  of  the 
other,  together  with  the  whole  physical  structure  of  which 
those  organs  are  a  necessary  constituent  element.  But  this 
leads  directly  into  the  forbidden  field  of  speculation  with¬ 
out  facts.  If  a  future  life  is  to  be  demonstrated  at  all,  it 
will  not  be  by  reference  to  physical  structure,  but  by  refer- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


245 


ence  to  psychic  facts,  —  the  observable  phenomena  of  the 
soul.  When  we  have  learned  the  fact  that  there  is  a  physi¬ 
cal  structure  adapted  to  a  dual  mental  organization,  we 
have  learned  about  the  only  physical  fact,  that  can  possibly 
be  verified,  that  throws  any  light  upon  the  subject  of  a 
future  life  or  of  the  relations  which  the  two  sets  of  faculties 
sustain  towards  each  other.  It  would  be  pleasant  pastime 
to  speculate  upon  the  possible  functions  of  the  medulla 
oblongata  or  the  cerebellum ;  but  we  can  have  no  means 
of  verifying  such  speculations.  The  very  name  and  struc¬ 
ture,  however,  of  the  pons  Varolii  suggests  its  possible 
function  as  a  bridge  connecting  the  domains  of  the  two 
intelligences,  enabling  them  to  hold  communion  and  to  act 
in  synchronism  ;  but,  in  the  absence  of  a  possibility  of  veri¬ 
fying  such  speculations,  we  should  waste  valuable  time  that 
could  be  much  better  employed  in  solving  the  problems 
presented  by  the  psychic  facts  which  are  within  easy  range 
of  our  observation. 

I  now  wish  to  invite  particular  attention  to  two  incidental 
remarks  made  by  Dr.  Hammond  in  the  foregoing  extracts : 
“  They  show,  too,  that  certain  faculties  of  the  mind  are  not 
confined  to  that  organ  [the  brain.]  Again  he  remarks  that 
“  some  idiots  evince  a  great  instinctive  talent  for  music  and 
for  arithmetical  calculations,  which,  although  capable  of 
development,  as  are  other  instincts,  are  nevertheless  innate.” 

The  importance  and  far-reaching  significance  of  the 
remark,  and  the  fact  embraced  in  it,  cannot  be  overesti¬ 
mated.  It  is  a  clear  and  distinct  recognition,  by  one  of  the 
ablest  living  scientists,  of  the  fact  that  the  higher  functions 
of  intellect  may  be,  and  are  by  man,  performed  instinc¬ 
tively,  —  that  is  to  say,- by  that  mind  which  operates  when  the 
objective  senses  are  inhibited,  as  in  sleep  or  somnambulism  ; 
that  mind  which  is  often  active  and  potent  when  there  is  a 
total  absence  ot  power  in  the  objective  mind,  as  in  idiocy; 
that  mind  which  performs  its  functions  with  undiminished 


246 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


power  after  the  organ  of  the  objective  mind  has  been 
totally  eliminated  from  the  cranial  cavity. 

The  intelligent  reader  will  at  once  recognize  the  fact  that 
the  musical  and  mathematical  talents  possessed  by  some 
idiots  are  illustrations  of  that  class  of  phenomena  which  I 
have  elsewhere  designated  as  “  the  power  of  intuitive  per¬ 
ception  of  the  laws  of  Nature  ;  ”  for  it  is  obvious  that  the 
musical  power  of  an  idiot  must  be  the  result  of  an  intuitive 
or  instinctive  perception  of  the  laws  of  harmony  of  sounds. 
The  idiot’s  objective  mind  being  extinct,  he  obviously  has 
no  facilities  for  learning  those  laws  by  means  of  objective 
education.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  power  of  an 
idiot  to  solve  mathematical  problems. 

Of  course,  these  examples  afford  only  brief  and  fleeting 
glimpses  into  the  domain  of  subjective  mental  activity  and 
power ;  but  they  are  all-sufficient  to  enable  us  definitely  to 
locate  the  source  and  classify  the  phenomena. 

Moreover,  it  gives  us  the  logical  right  to  infer  that  facul¬ 
ties  which  exhibit  such  prodigious  power  under  abnormal 
conditions,  faculties  which  are  demonstrably  not  of  the 
brain,  have  a  normal  function  to  perform  somewhere ;  and 
as  they  have  no  normal  function  in  this  life,  it  must  be  in  a 
life  to  come.  The  fact  that  their  greatest  observable 
power  is  manifested  when  the  functions  of  the  brain  are 
inhibited,  gives  us  the  logical  right  to  infer  that  the  physi¬ 
cal  frame  limits  its  power ;  and  that  when  it  is  freed  from 
material  limitations,  emancipated  from  the  trammels  of  the 
flesh,  its  power  of  intuitional  perception  of  all  Truth  will 
be  perfected.  Not  that  its  possessor  will  instantaneously 
become  omniscient.  That  is  a  supposition  which  none 
but  a  Hindu  philosopher,  filled  to  saturation  with  that 
monstrous  egotism  which  results  from  self-hypnotization,  is 
capable  of  seriously  advancing.  The  most  that  can  be 
rationally  postulated  is  that  the  finite,  human  entity,  en¬ 
dowed  with  such  powers,  is  invested  with  the  potentiality 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  247 

of  rapid  intellectual  and  moral  development  and  indefinite 
progress. 

It  will  now  be  conceded  that  whilst  the  existence  of  a 
dual  mind  in  man  is  presumptively  proven  by  the  very 
nature  of  the  phenomena  exhibited,  it  is  conclusively 
demonstrated  by  the  facts  of  physiology  and  cerebral  anat¬ 
omy.  Especially  is  this  true  since  the  facts  of  cerebral 
anatomy  demonstrate  the  proposition  that  there  can  be  no 
objective  mind  in  the  absence  of  a  brain.  In  other  words, 
as  I  have  before  remarked,  the  objective  mind  is  the  func¬ 
tion  of  the  brain,  and  ceases  when  the  brain  dies  or  is 
destroyed.  The  subjective  mind,  on  the  other  hand,  be¬ 
longs  to  an  entity  which  is  neither  dependent  for  its  exis¬ 
tence,  nor  for  the  power  to  perform  its  functions,  upon  the 
vitality  or  even  the  existence  of  the  brain. 

It  may  be  asked  at  this  point,  “  If  the  objective  mind 
is  the  function  of  the  brain  and  they  perish  together,  why 
may  it  not  be  true  that  the  subjective  mind  is  the  function 
of  the  spinal  cord  and  that  it  perishes  with  that  organ?” 
To  this  I  reply  that  I  allude  to  that  question  at  this  point 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  I  am  not  unmindful 
of  its  pertinency ;  and  I  promise  to  make  a  full  and  com¬ 
plete  answer  to  it  in  the  ensuing  chapters.  The  answer  to 
that  question  pertains  wholly  to  the  problem  of  a  future 
life ;  and  the  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  in  this  chapter 
I  am  merely  trying  to  demonstrate  that  the  human  entity 
has  a  dual  mind ;  and  having  done  that,  I  shall  reserve  the 
right  to  hold  that,  inasmuch  as  one  of  those  minds  clearly 
belongs  to  the  body,  the  other  as  clearly  belongs  to  the 
soul.  It  will  then  be  in  order  to  appeal  to  the  facts  —  the 
observable  phenomena  —  of  the  soul  to  demonstrate  its 
continued  existence  after  the  death  of  the  body ;  and  that 
of  itself  will  be  found  to  be  a  clear  and  conclusive  answer 
to  the  possible  supposition  that  the  subjective  mind  is 
merely  the  function  of  the  spinal  cord,  or  of  the  medulla 


248  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

oblongata,  or  of  the  pons  Varolii,  or  of  the  cerebellum,  or  of 
any  other  organ  of  the  body.  That  they,  or  some  of  them, 
together  with  the  nervous  system,  are  the  organs  of  the 
subjective  entity,  by  and  through  which  it  exercises  its 
control  over  the  functions,  sensations,  and  conditions  of 
the  body  during  its  sojourn  in  it,  is  quite  another  proposi¬ 
tion,  and  it  may  be  admitted  to  be  true  without  argument. 
It  has,  however,  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  under 
immediate  consideration. 

Now  let  us  summarize  the  foregoing  demonstrable  and 
demonstrated  facts,  so  that  we  may  have  a  clearer  view  of 
the  effect  of  the  whole.  To  put  them  in  orderly  form,  we 
have  the  following  clearly  established  propositions  :  — 

1.  The  objective  mind  is  the  function  of  the  physical 
brain ;  it  is  wholly  dependent  upon  the  condition  of  that 
organ,  and  it  ceases  to  exist  when  the  brain  loses  its 
vitality. 

2.  Instinctive  acts  are  performed  by  animals  after  the 
brain  has  been  wholly  excised  from  the  cranial  cavity,  and 
by  human  beings  born  without  a  brain  or  any  other  intra¬ 
cranial  ganglion. 

3.  Intellectual  feats  of  a  high  order,  such  as  playing 
musical  instruments,  making  mathematical  calculations,  and 
many  others,  belong  to  the  realm  of  instinct,  and  are  often 
performed  by  idiots,  —  that  is,  by  those  destitute  of  objec¬ 
tive  intellect. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  propositions  are  based 
upon  the  facts  which  have  been  observed,  tested,  and  re¬ 
corded  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  scientists,  living  or 
dead.  They  are  demonstrative  of  the  dual-mind  hypoth¬ 
esis  ;  for  they  show  that  when  one  mind  is  wholly  extin¬ 
guished,  either  by  natural  causes  as  in  idiocy,  or  by  a 
surgical  operation  such  as  those  described  by  Dr.  Ham¬ 
mond,  there  is  still  a  mind  existent  and  capable  of  mani¬ 
festing  itself. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


249 


It  is  thought,  therefore,  that  it  may  now  be  fairly  claimed 
that  the  two-mind  theory  has  been  demonstrated  to  be  true  : 
1.  logically,  because  (a)  all  the  facts  can  be  accounted 
for  upon  that  hypothesis,  ( b )  because  there  is  no  other 
hypothesis  that  can  account  for  all  the  facts  j  2.  because 
the  facts  of  cerebral  anatomy,  physiology,  and  experimental 
surgery  all  conspire  to  demonstrate  its  truth. 


DUALITY  DEMONSTRATED  BY  EVOLUTION. 


Duality  in  the  Lower  Animals.  —  A  Primordial  Fact.  —  A  Physical 
Basis  for  Immortality.  —  The  Ultimate  Goal  of  Psychic  Evolu¬ 
tion.  —  Evidence  of  Design  in  Psychic  Development.  —  Defini¬ 
tion  of  “  Design.”  —  Nature  conceals  God.  —  Man  reveals  God.  — 
The  Functions  of  the  Soul.  —  Design  evinced  in  the  Facts  of 
Organic  Evolution.  —  The  Benevolence  of  God.  —  Painless  Death. 
—  The  Universal  Anaesthetic.  — God  is  ever  kind  to  the  Victim 
of  the  Inevitable.  —  Man  Re-enthroned. 

T  T  AVING  now  definitely  ascertained  that  the  facts  of 
*  *  cerebral  anatomy  not  only  sustain  the  dual  hypothesis, 
but  locate  the  organ  by  and  through  which  the  subjective 
mind  can  manifest  itself,  it  remains  to  consider  briefly  the 
bearing  of  the  facts  of  Evolution  upon  the  subject-matter. 
For,  if  it  is  true  that  man  has  a  soul,  and  that  his  soul  is 
immortal,  all  the  pertinent  phenomena  of  Nature  will  con¬ 
spire  to  verify  those  facts.  It  will  also  be  in  order  briefly 
to  consider  the  facts  of  evolution,  as  manifested  in  the 
creation  of  the  dual  mental  organism,  in  their  bearings  on 
the  question  of  the  character  and  attributes  of  the  Deity. 

Evolutionists  tell  us  that  the  tendency  of  organic  Nature 
from  the  beginning  has  been  toward  the  creation  of  Man. 
All  the  facts  of  physical  Nature  conspire  to  demonstrate  the 
truth  of  that  proposition  ;  for,  on  every  line  of  the  evolution 
of  the  lower  animals  upward,  the  trend  of  each  successive 
change  in  physical  structure  has  been  toward  that  final  goal. 
But  evolutionists  have  failed  to  observe  another  cognate  fact 
of  even  more  profound  significance  ;  namely,  that,  in  the 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  25  I 


very  beginning  of  psychic  evolution  the  foundation  was  laid 
for  the  development  of  an  immortal  soul.  This  foundation 
was  laid  when  the  first  organic  being,  having  a  dual  mental 
organism,  was  evolved  from  protoplasm.  And  on  every 
line  of  evolution  from  the  lower  animals  upward,  this  dual 
mental  organism  is  a  salient,  nay,  the  dominant,  mental  and 
physical  characteristic.  As  I  have  remarked  in  a  previous 
chapter,  without  the  dual  mind  there  would  be  no  mental 
organism  remaining  after  the  dissolution  of  the  body  and 
brain,  and  the  consequent  extinction  of  the  objective  mind. 
In  other  words,  without  the  dual  mind  there  would  be  no 
basis  upon  which  to  build  a  human  soul.  With  it,  existent 
from  the  beginning  in  the  lower  animals,  the  process  of 
evolution  of  the  subjective  mind  from  the  status  of  mere 
animal  instinct  up  to  that  of  an  intelligent,  self-existent 
entity,  was  as  natural,  as  inevitable,  as  was  the  evolution 
of  the  physical  organism  through  the  gradations  of  animal 
life  up  to  the  perfect  physical  man.  As  the  soul  is  con- 
nascent  with  the  body,  and  as  the  objective  and  subjective 
minds  are  synchronous  in  action,  so  has  psychic  evolution 
progressed  in  perfect  unison  with  organic  evolution.  As 
the  ultimate  goal  of  organic  evolution  is  the  creation  of 
man,  so  is  the  ultimate  goal  of  psychic  evolution  the 
creation  of  the  immortal  soul. 

On  no  other  rational  hypothesis  can  the  wisdom  of  the 
Creator  be  made  manifest  to  finite  comprehension.  But 
on  this  hypothesis,  not  only  is  the  existence  of  the  God  of 
Jesus  made  apparent,  but  his  wisdom  is  demonstrated.  It 
has  often  been  said  that  there  is  no  evidence  of  design  in 
the  phenomena  of  physical  Nature  ;  and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  in  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  the  physical  universe 
nothing  is  manifest  but  the  opejtftia 
which  appears  to  be  inhermit  in  matter*  4 
impulse  of  an  iron  neces*|y7fen^Japp.7rejtt|y  in  utter 
regard  of  human  life  or  rn^rii'rcy Jor  of  justjcjL  ^ 


252 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


other  hand,  it  may  be  said  that  this  vast  universe  itself, 
with  its  inherent  laws,  by  and  through  which  such  grand 
and  beautiful  results  are  brought  about,  is  an  evidence 
of  design. 

“Who,”  says  Beecher,1  “designed  this  mighty  machine, 
created  matter,  gave  to  it  its  laws,  impressed  upon  it  that  ten¬ 
dency  which  has  brought  forth  the  almost  infinite  results  on  the 
globe,  and  wrought  them  into  a  perfect  system?  Design  by 
wholesale  is  greater  than  design  by  retail.” 

All  of  which  sounds  plausible  ;  but  it  is  simply  begging  the 
question.  If  there  were  no  further  evidence  than  that, 
science  would  be  justified  in  rejecting  the  design  argument 
altogether,  which  it  has  done  ever  since  the  doctrines  of 
Darwin  displaced  those  of  Paley. 

It  seems  to  me  that  certain  of  the  specific  facts  of  evolu¬ 
tion  itself  furnish  the  most  indubitable  evidence  of  design 
that  can  be  imagined.  Paley’s  watch  did  not  furnish  a 
more  striking  evidence  of  design  than  is  afforded  by  the 
dealings  of  God  with  man. 

The  first  question,  however,  is,  what  is  the  proper  defini¬ 
tion  of  the  word  “  design,”  as  it  is  employed  as  an  argu¬ 
ment  for  the  existence  of  God  and  his  intelligent  authorship 
of  the  universe  ?  This  becomes  a  very  important  question 
when  we  remember  how  much  of  man’s  valuable  time  is 
annually  wasted  in  disputatious  argument  between  persons 
whose  only  real  differences  arise  from  a  wrong  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  terms. 

Design,  in  the  sense  which  reaches  the  merits  of  the 
question  at  issue,  is  a  definite  purpose  conceived  by  an  intel- 
ligent  being  with  a  view  to  the  production  of  a  specific  useful 
result. 

This  definition  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  works  of 
Nature  and  the  works  of  man.  In  Paley’s  watch  there  was 


1  Evolution  and  Religion. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


25  3 


evidence  of  intelligent  design ;  for  a  specific  useful  result 
was  produced,  —  namely,  the  creation  of  an  instrument  for 
the  measurement  of  time.  But  a  lunatic  might  produce 
the  most  complicated  machine  imaginable,  and  if  it  had  no 
specific  purpose  to  subserve,  if  it  was  incapable  of  being 
set  in  motion  or  of  performing  any  function,  there  would  be 
no  evidence  of  intelligent  design.  On  the  other  hand,  if, 
in  the  works  of  Nature,  there  can  be  found  evidence  of  an 
intelligent  purpose  tending  at  all  times  toward  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  a  specific  useful  result,  design  becomes  as  self-evident 
in  Nature  as  in  art.  It  is,  therefore,  to  a  certain  extent,  a 
question  of  evidence  as  to  whether  any  particular  structure 
can  be  said  to  exhibit  design ;  and,  within  certain  limits, 
what  is  conclusive  to  one  mind  might  not  convince  another. 
Thus,  the  theologian  finds  evidence,  conclusive  to  him,  in 
every  tree,  leaf,  bud,  or  flower,  as  well  as  in  the  grand 
structure  of  the  physical  universe,  of  the  existence  of  a  God 
of  intelligence  and  power,  and  he  also  sees  conclusive  evi¬ 
dence  of  a  commensurate  design.  To  this,  however,  the 
materialist  is  ever  ready  with  his  reply  that  all  this  is  the 
result,  not  of  design,  but  of  the  operation  of  physical  laws 
which  are  inherent  in  matter  itself ;  that  these  blind  forces 
of  Nature  may  go  on  throughout  all  coming  time,  building 
new  worlds  and  disintegrating  the  old,  in  one  eternal  round, 
without  evincing  either  intelligence  or  design,  or  aught  but 
an  iron  necessity  resultant  from  immutable  laws  inherent  in 
the  Cosmos.  From  a  purely  scientific  standpoint,  consider¬ 
ing  alone  the  cosmogony  of  the  universe  as  exhibited  in  the 
operation  of  the  great  physical  forces,  the  materialist  is 
right.  It  is  here  that  the  words  of  Jacobi  strike  one  with 
the  force  of  a  revelation  :  “  Nature  conceals  God  ;  man 
alone  reveals  him.”  And  it  may  be  set  down  as  an  axiom 
in  spiritual  philosophy  that  in  the  phenomena  of  mind  alone 
is  to  be  found  any  evidence  whatever  of  the  existence  of  an 
intelligence  antecedent  to  the  formation  of  the  planetary 


54 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


system,  any  evidence  of  design  in  the  structure  of  the 
material  universe,  or  any  evidence  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul.  But  in  the  phenomena  of  mind  we  find  all  the 
evidence  necessary  to  demonstrate  all  three  propositions. 
It  is  only  necessary,  however,  to  find  evidence  of  design  in 
order  to  establish  the  first  two,  for  it  is  axiomatic  that 
design  presupposes  a  designer.  What  stronger  evidence  of 
design  can  be  imagined  than  the  fact  that  all  the  operations 
of  Nature  tend  toward  the  accomplishment  of  one  single 
specific  object?  As  I  have  before  remarked,  all  the  facts 
of  organic  evolution  show  that  the  creation  of  man  was  the 
goal  toward  which  all  Nature  has  tended  from  the  begin¬ 
ning.  No  evolutionist,  materialist  though  he  may  be,  will 
deny  that  proposition.  This,  in  itself,  is  evidence  —  of  a 
secondary  value,  however  —  of  design,  because  in  it  we  find 
a  specific  goal.  But  the  materialist  will  reply  that  it  is  in¬ 
adequate  and  inconclusive  because  there  is  still  no  evidence 
of  intelligent  design,  since  man,  in  common  with  all  organic 
Nature,  is  destined  to  die,  and  in  his  seventy  years  of 
allotted  time  there  is  not  an  adequate  motive  for  bringing 
him  into  existence.  Cui  botio  ?  is  his  ever-ready  question  ; 
and  it  is  pertinent  and  unanswerable  from  his  standpoint. 
If,  therefore,  there  were  no  further  evidence  of  design  than 
that  afforded  by  man’s  physical  existence,  it  must  be  con¬ 
ceded  that  the  argument  fails  from  inherent  weakness.  But, 
as  I  have  already  pointed  out,  there  was  a  foundation  laid 


j  at  the  earliest  possible  period  in  the  history  of  organic  evo- 

:  lution  for  the  development  of  an  immortal  soul.  The  dual 
mind  found  in  each  and  every  animate  creature  evolved 


from  each  individual  monad,  furnishes  this  foundation.  It 


is  found  in  all  animate  Nature,  from  the  lowest  to  the  high¬ 


est,  and  on  every  line  both  of  divergence  from  man  and  of 
convergence  toward  him ;  so  that,  upon  whatever  line  of 
development  the  goal  might  be  reached,  the  embryo  of  an 
immortal  soul  would  be  present.  It  is  true  that  there  ere 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


255 


creatures  destitute  of  anything  like  a  brain,  and  therefore 
without  an  objective  mind ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  all  ani¬ 
mate  Nature  that  is  destitute  of  a  subjective  mind,  rudimen¬ 
tary  though  it  be.  In  fact,  the  subjective  mind  antedates 
the  objective,  the  latter  being  the  result  of  organic  evolu¬ 
tion. 

It  may  be  asked  why  it  is  necessary  to  assume  that  the 
subjective  mind  in  animals  is  the  embryo  of  an  immortal 
soul  in  man,  since  both  minds  have  functions  to  perform  in 
physical  life.  To  this  the  self-evident  reply  is  that  Nature 
never  produces  an  unnecessarily  complex  or  complicated 
organism  ;  and  unless  we  assume  that  God  was  incapable  of 
endowing  the  subjective  mind  with  the  capacity  to  develop 
the  power  of  reason  sufficiently  for  the  purposes  of  this  life, 
we  must  assume  that  it  has  functions  to  perform  in  some 
other  life.  We  know  that  it  is  susceptible  of  a  far  higher 
intellectual  development  than  is  the  objective  mind.  The 
facts,  therefore,  that  the  latter  was  created  with  functions 
pertaining  exclusively  to  this  life,  and  that  the  former  was 
created  with  faculties  that  perform  no  function  in  this  life, 
constitute  demonstrative  evidence  that  the  subjective  mind 
was  created,  ab  initio ,  with  special  reference  to  a  future  life. 
Design,  therefore,  is  as  self-evident  in  the  order  and  pro¬ 
cess  of  the  evolution  of  the  lower  animals  up  to  man  as  it 
is  in  the  structure  of  a  watch. 

It  may  be  asked  why  God  does  not  exhibit  some  tan¬ 
gible,  observable,  moral  attribute  toward  his  creatures,  — 
some  benevolent  aspect  that  can  bear  an  interpretation  other 
than  that  involved  in  a  blind  adherence  to  primordial  law. 
Why  is  pain  and  agony,  and  death  and  destruction,  through 
the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  necessary  for  the 
development  of  man?  The  obvious  answer  is,  that  it  is 
only  through  the  death  of  the  unfit  that  room  can  be  made 
for  the  survival  of  the  fit.  In  a  word,  it  is  only  through 
death  and  destruction  that  evolution  is  possible.  Without 


256 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


death  as  a  universal  factor  in  the  physical  world,  progress 
would  be  impossible.  And  this  applies  to  man  as  forcibly 
as  it  does  to  the  lower  animals.  If  at  any  moment  death 
should  be  abolished  as  to  mankind,  progress  would  come 
to  a  practical  standstill,  and  the  earth  would  soon  be  over- 
populated.  This  is  one  of  the  facts  demonstrative  that 
physical  life  is  not  the  final  goal  of  man  or  of  his  evolution ; 
and  since  it  is  demonstrable  that  there  can  be  no  higher 
species  developed  than  man,  if  he  has  any  future,  it  must  be 
in  another  form  of  existence.  To  recur  to  the  first  ques¬ 
tion,  Why  does  not  God  exhibit  some  tangible  moral 
attribute  toward  his  creatures?  —  it  is  answered  that  he 
does  exhibit  a  positive,  tangible  quality  of  pure  benevolence 
towards  all  animate  Nature  in  a  phenomenon  that  is  of  such 
common  experience  that  the  world  appears  to  have  over¬ 
looked  it  entirely.  That  phenomenon  consists  in  the 
absolute  immunity  from  physical  or  mental  suffering  in  the 
hour  of  inevitable  death.1  This  immunity  is  universal  in  all 
animate  Nature.  Moreover,  there  is  every  evidence  to  show 
that  death  is  a  pleasurable  process  to  all  who  experience  it, 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  organism  in  Nature.  More¬ 
over,  there  is  indubitable  evidence  demonstrative  that  God 
is  ever  kind  to  the  victim  of  the  inevitable.  This  is  true 
whether  the  inevitable  event  assumes  the  form  of  death  or 
of  a  surgical  operation ;  2  for  in  the  subjective  state  which 
spontaneously  ensues  upon  the  approach  of  either  event, 
there  is  provided  a  universal  anaesthetic,  which  deprives 
death  of  its  sting  and  its  terrors ;  and  if  the  surgeon  knows 
the  laws  pertaining  to  the  subject,  it  eases  the  patient  of  all 
pain  and  suffering. 

Could  further  or  more  tangible  evidence  be  required  to 

1  For  a  full  discussion  of  this  subject,  see  “  The  Law  of  Psychic 
Phenomena.” 

2  See  “  Hypnotism,  a  Universal  Ana;sthetic  in  Surgery,”  N.  Y. 
Medical  Journal  for  Dec.  22, 1894. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  25  7 

demonstrate  the  quality  of  mercy  and  benevolence  in  God 
towards  his  creatures? 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  immunity  from  suffering 
during  the  process  of  dissolution  cannot  be  tortured  into 
the  domain  of  attributes  resulting  from  the  laws  of  heredity, 
or  of  natural  selection,  or  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  It 
is  obvious  that  when  this  phenomenon  is  exhibited,  the 
subject  is  far  beyond  the  reach  of  those  laws.  Nor  is  there  „£  JLk  /a. 
any  law  or  fact  in  the  domain  of  evolution  that  can  be 
invoked  to  explain  it.  It  is  a  broad,  ultimate  fact,  standing 
apart,  tangible,  monumental,  demonstrative  of  the  intelli¬ 
gence,  the  love,  the  mercy,  the  benevolence  of  the  Great 
First  Cause. 

Is  there  no  evidence  of  intelligent  design  in  the  phenom¬ 
ena  of  Nature?  Let  the  facts  —  the  observable,  tangible, 
demonstrable  facts  —  answer  the  question. 

Thus  is  man  rehabilitated  and  re-enthroned  as  the  grand 
central  figure  of  creation,  the  ultimate  object  of  creative 
energy.  The  Copernican  system  of  astronomy  shocked  the 
Christian  world,  and  moved  it  to  deeds  of  violence  by 
removing  the  habitation  of  man  from  the  centre  of  the 
universe,  and  sending  it  whirling  through  space,  a  unit  in  the 
Titanic  procession  around  the  central  sun,  —  the  source  of 
light  and  warmth  and  energy.  Another  shock  was  sent 
through  Christendom  when  it  was  first  shown  that  the  facts 
of  evolution  proved  that  God  created  man,  not  by  miracle, 
but  through  the  operations  of  natural  law.  But  Christen- \ 
dom  has  survived  both  shocks,  and  has  lived  to  recognize  .  * 
the  fact  that  science  robs  not  God  of  his  glory  nor  man  of 
his  dignity.  On  the  contrary,  Copernican  astronomy 
removed  man  from  the  centre  of  the  physical  universe  only 
to  show  him  that  the  central  sun,  with  all  its  stores  of 
physical  energy,  is  but  his  domestic  servant,  charged  with 
the  duty  of  rendering  his  home  habitable  and  beautiful. 
Evolutionary  science  removed  his  origin  from  the  domain 


258  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 

of  superstition,  and  revealed  him  to  himself  as  the  central 
figure  in  the  physical  universe.  Psychic  science  proclaims 
his  divine  pedigree,  confirms  his  kinship  to  Christ,  and 
verifies  his  title-deeds  to  a  “  home  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens.” 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  DISTINCTIVE  FACULTIES  OF  THE  SOUL. 

Every  Faculty  of  the  Mind  has  its  Use  or  Function.  —  Faculties  of 
the  Soul  which  perform  no  Normal  Function  in  this  Life.  — The 
Man  and  the  Brute  psychically  Differentiated  —  Ego-Altruism.  — 
The  Instinct  of  Self-Sacrifice.  —  Conditions  precedent  to  the  At¬ 
tainment  of  Immortality. 

TTAVING  now  logically  and  scientifically  demonstrated 
*  *  the  existence  in  man  of  a  dual  mind,  it  remains  to 
inquire  what  are  the  legitimate  logical  and  scientific  con¬ 
clusions  to  be  derived  from  that  fact.  In  doing  so,  the  first 
matter  to  be  considered  is  the  question  as  to  what  can  be 
taken  for  granted.  As  I  have  pointed  out  in  the  earlier 
chapters  of  this  book,  there  is,  in  every  process  of  reason¬ 
ing,  one  factor  in  the  series  of  steps  or  propositions  leading 
to  a  logical  conclusion,  that  is  always  taken  for  granted. 
Thus,  in  reasoning  by  induction,  we  collate  our  facts  and 
from  them  we  reason  up  to  general  principles.  That  is  to 
say,  after  the  observance  of  a  series  of  phenomena,  when 
we  find  a  constant  recurrence  of  the  series  in  orderly  and 
unvarying  sequence,  we  are  enabled  to  say  with  certainty 
that  the  same  phenomena  will  continue  to  recur  in  the 
same  orderly  sequence.  In  other  words  we  have  discovered 
the  law  which  governs  the  subject-matter,  —  the  principle 
which  underlies  it.  But  in  formulating  the  law  we  invaria¬ 
bly  assume,  without  formally  stating  it,  the  most  important 
proposition  in  the  series  which  gives  it  validity.  That  prop¬ 
osition  is  that  Nature  is  ever  co?ista?it.  It  is  obvious  that 


?,6o 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


if  a  law  of  Nature  operated  in  one  way  at  one  time,  and  in 
the  opposite  way  at  another,  man  would  be  put  to  perma¬ 
nent  intellectual  confusion.  He  could  never  be  certain 
that  lie  knew  anything.  In  logical  reasoning,  therefore,  our 
very  silence  regarding  the  constancy  of  Nature  evinces,  in 
terms  more  eloquent  than  words,  our  calm,  unfaltering  trust 
in  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  the  Eternal  Lawgiver. 
So  universal  is  this  confidence  among  civilized  peoples,  that 
the  proposition  that  Nature’s  laws  are  immutable  is  not 
only  never  questioned,  but  is,  by  common  consent,  regarded 
as  one  of  those  self-evident  propositions  which  to  argue  is 
a  work  of  supererogation. 

In  the  domain  of  psychological  research  there  is  also  a 
proposition  equally  important,  and  unqualifiedly  self-evi¬ 
dent,  which  is  assumed  without  question  by  all  who  apply 
the  principles  of  logical  reasoning  to  the  solution  of  psycho¬ 
logical  problems.  That  proposition  is  that  There  is  no 
faculty,  emotion,  or  organism  of  the  human  mind  that  has 
not  its  function,  use,  or  object. 

In  the  physical  world  it  has  long  since  passed  into  a 
proverb  that  “  Nothing  was  ever  made  in  vain.”  This 
may  be  true,  and  it  probably  is  true ;  but  it  is  far  from 
being  self-evident.  For  instance,  it  is  difficult  to  discover 
the  use  of  mosquitoes,  or  of  venomous  reptiles,  or  of  those 
insects  which  sometimes  destroy  the  vegetation  of  whole 
provinces  and  bring  desolation  and  famine  to  the  doors  of 
the  helpless  people.  Such  things  not  only  cause  the  unre¬ 
flecting  to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  God,  but  they  forcibly 
remind  us  all  of  the  essential  truth  of  the  saying  of  the 
pious  Jacobi,  that  “  Nature  conceals  God ;  man  reveals 
him.”  No  truth  is  more  frequently  brought  home  to  the 
scientific  student  of  Nature  and  of  man  than  this;  for 
the  more  we  study  physical  Nature  the  farther  God  is  re¬ 
moved  from  us,  the  more  we  study  man  the  nearer  God 
approaches  to  us.  Thus,  the  savage  finds  God  in  the  most 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


26l 


common  phenomena  of  Nature ;  he  sees  him  in  the 
lightning’s  flash,  and  in  the  thunder  he  hears  his  voice. 
Explain  the  phenomena  to  him,  and  his  God  is  no  longer 
enthroned  in  the  storm  cloud  ;  and  so  it  is  with  all  who 
study  only  the  phenomena  of  physical  Nature.  The  more 
one  learns  of  the  proximate  causes  of  things,  the  farther 
away  is  removed  the  ultimate  cause ;  and  if  one  confines 
his  attention  to  the  material  universe  alone,  he  is  prone  to 
the  conclusion  that  if  it  is  ignorance  of  Nature’s  laws  that 
gives  birth  to  gods,  a  knowledge  of  those  laws  will  surely 
destroy  them. 

Not  so  in  the  study  of  man,  of  whom  it  has  been  truly 
said  that  there  is  nothing  else  on  earth  that  is  truly  great, 
and  in  whom  there  is  nothing  truly  great  but  mind.  It  is, 
therefore,  only  by  the  study  of  the  mind  of  man  that  we 
shall  be  able  to  apprehend  the  existence  of  God,  to  realize 
his  presence,  to  demonstrate  his  immanence,  or  to  learn 
anything  regarding  the  origin  and  destiny  of  the  soul. 

We  may  assume,  then,  as  the  starting-point  of  our  argu¬ 
ment,  the  axiom  before  mentioned  ;  namely,  that  “  There  is 
no  faculty,  emotion,  or  organism  of  the  human  mind  that 
has  not  its  use  or  object.”  This  is  a  self-evident  proposi¬ 
tion.  It  is  axiomatic,  for  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  its 
opposite.  It  is  “so  evident  at  first  sight  that  no  process  of 
reasoning  or  demonstration  can  make  it  plainer  ”  (Webster). 
When  this  can  be  said  of  a  proposition,  all  legitimate  con¬ 
clusions  to  be  deduced  therefrom  partake  of  the  character 
of  the  axiom ;  that  is,  they  are  as  necessarily  true  as  the 
axiom  itself.  They  are  then  scientifically  demonstrated. 

The  first  fact  in  the  order  of  consideration  to  which  this 
axiom  may  be  applied  is  that  man  has  a  dual  mind.  This 
is  the  primary  fact  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the 
science  of  the  soul,  for  it  is  in  a  sense  demonstrative  of  the 
fact  that  man  has  a  soul ;  that  is  to  say,  if  man  has  a  soul, 
its  mental  organization  must  necessarily  be  supposed  to  be 


262 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


identified  with  one  or  the  other  of  his  two  minds.  Now,  it 
has  already  been  shown  that  the  facts  of  hypnotism  and  of 
experimental  surgery  demonstrate  that  the  objective  mind 
is  a  function  of  the  brain,  and  necessarily  perishes  with  that 
organ.  That  fact,  therefore,  excludes  the  objective  mind 
from  consideration  as  a  possible  heir  to  a  future  life,  and 
clears  the  way  for  the  consideration  of  the  facts  relating  to 
the  subjective  mind,  which  facts  must  of  necessity  either 
prove  or  disprove  its  claims  to  immortality. 

The  first  question  to  be  considered,  then,  is  one  of  use 
and  function ;  and  the  first  inquiry  is,  what  purpose  is  sub¬ 
served  by  the  two  minds  ?  In  other  words,  if  man  has  not 
an  immortal  soul,  what  possible  object  pertaining  to  this  life 
can  be  subserved  by  the  two  minds  that  could  not  as  well 
have  been  attained  by  one  mind,  since  it  is  axiomatic  that 
Nature  never  produces  an  unnecessarily  complex  or  com¬ 
plicated  organism? 

Now,  it  must  be  remembered  that  so  far  as  this  life  is 
concerned,  the  subjective  mind  has,  primarily,  but  three 
functions,  namely :  1.  Self-preservation;  2.  Reproduction; 
3.  The  preservation  of  the  offspring.  These  may  be  re¬ 
duced  in  terms  to  one ;  namely,  the  perpetuation  of  the 
race  or  species.  It  has  other  powers,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  and  as  we  shall  see  more  particularly  later  on.  Some 
of  those  powers  belong  exclusively  to  the  subjective  mind, 
whilst  others  differ  only  in  degree  from  corresponding 
powers  belonging  to  the  objective  mind.  But  the  point  to 
be  considered  for  the  moment  is  that  the  only  normal 
functions  performed  by  the  subjective  mind  during  its  so¬ 
journ  in  the  body,  and  its  connection  with  it,  all  pertain  to 
the  perpetuation  of  the  species.  These  are,  primarily, 
purely  animal  functions,  it  is  true,  and  are  possessed  in 
common  with  all  animate  Nature.  They  are,  nevertheless, 
its  only  normal  functions.  This  is  demonstrated  by  the 
fact  that  it  can  never  perforin  any  other  function  or  exer- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


263 


cise  any  other  of  its  manifold  powers,  except  under  the  most 
intensely  abnormal  conditions  of  the  body.  This  proposition 
will  be  amply  demonstrated  in  a  later  chapter.  For  the 
present  it  must  be  taken  for  granted  for  the  sake  of  the 
argument  which  follows. 

Is  it  conceivable  that  a  power  which  is  capable  of  creating 
man  and  endowing  him  with  powers  that  we  know  him  to 
possess,  could  not  have  endowed  his  objective  mind  with  the 
instinctive  powers  and  functions  which  have  been  named? 
In  other  words,  what  is  the  use  of  such  a  complex  and  com¬ 
plicated  organism  as  is  involved  in  the  mechanism  of  a  dual 
mind  when  a  unitary  mind  could  just  as  well  have  performed 
all  the  normal  functions  now  performed  by  both? 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  bare  fact  that  man  possesses 
a  dual  mind  necessarily  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  one  of 
them  does  not  pertain  exclusively  to  his  physical  well-being. 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood  at  this  point.  I  do  not 
undertake  to  say  that  immortality  is  directly  foreshadowed 
by  the  fact  that  man  has  a  dual  mind,  and  that  his  subjective 
mind  is  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  animal  instinct.  But 
what  I  do  say  is  that  the  fact  that  he  has  a  dual  mind, 
indirectly  but  inevitably,  leads  to  that  conclusion.  It  is, 
indeed,  the  fundamental  basis  of  fact  from  which  we  may 
proceed  to  a  demonstration  of  a  future  life.  It  is  a  logical 
as  well  as  a  physical  necessity,  since  the  objective  mind  is 
merely  a  function  of  the  brain.  There  must,  therefore,  be 
another  mind,  another  intellect,  another  entity  in  man,  or 
there  would  be  nothing  upon  which  to  predicate  the  hypoth¬ 
esis  of  immortality.  It  is,  therefore,  an  argument  for  a  future 
life  in  that  the  existence  of  two  minds  cannot  be  accounted 
for  on  any  other  rational  hypothesis. 

I  cannot  be  unaware  that  the  argument  is  far  from  de¬ 
monstrative  so  long  as  none  of  the  attributes  and  powers  of 
the  subjective  mind  have  thus  far  been  taken  into  considera¬ 
tion  except  the  purely  animal  instincts  which  we  have  been 


264  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


considering,  since  those  functions  pertain  wholly  to  the  phys¬ 
ical  plane.  If  all  else  were  left  out  of  consideration,  man 
would  be  on  an  exact  level  with  the  brute  creation,  so  far  as 
the  question  of  a  future  life  is  concerned.  It  would  be  im¬ 
possible  to  postulate  a  rational  hypothesis  of  immortality  for 
man  that  would  not  apply  with  equal  force  to  the  brute,  if 
the  soul  of  neither  was  endowed  with  higher  attributes  than 
the  instincts  which  belong  alone  to  the  physical  plane. 

It  is  just  here,  however,  that  the  difference  between  man 
and  brute  becomes  manifest  ;  and  it  is  upon  these  lines  that 
must  be  settled  the  vexed  question  whether  the  brute,  equally 
with  man,  may  not  be  able  to  read  his  title  clear  to  mansions 
in  the  skies,  since  the  former,  in  common  with  the  latter,  is 
endowed  with  both  objective  and  subjective  faculties. 

The  subjective  faculties  of  the  brute  are  limited  to  those 
primary  instincts  which  pertain  wholly  to  thl  perpetuation  of 
the  species,  and  belo?ig  therefore  exclusively  to  the  physical 
plane.  On  the  other  hand,  the  subjective  mind  of  man  is 
endowed  with  intellectual  faculties  which  far  transcend  those 
of  the  objective  intellect,  and  some  of  which  perform  no  nor¬ 
mal  function  on  the  physical  plane. 

Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  in  this  connection  that  the  in¬ 
stinct  of  self-preservation  itself,  common  as  it  is  to  all  animate 
Nature,  and  purely  selfish  as  it  is  among  the  brute  creation, 
contains  within  itself  the  elements  of  the  purest  altruism. 
And  when  it  is  normally  developed  in  man,  it  becomes  the 
most  purely  unselfish  of  all  the  human  instincts,  and  exhibits 
itself  in  the  noblest  acts  of  self-sacrifice  recorded  in  history, 
the  sublimest  heroism  conceivable  by  the  human  imagina¬ 
tion.  It  was  regnant  in  the  devoted  band  who  held  the 
pass  at  Thermopylae  ;  in  “  Horatius,  who  held  the  bridge  in 
the  brave  days  of  yore ;  ”  in  Winkelried,  who  swept  the 
enemy’s  spears  into  his  own  body,  that  he  might  break  the 
Austrian  phalanx ;  in  the  pilot  who,  with  arms  shrivelling 
in  the  flames,  guided  his  burning  ship  toward  the  shore,  to 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  265 

the  end  that  others  might  survive ;  in  the  captain  of  the 
sinking  ship  who  stood  at  his  post  until  the  last  passenger 
was  safe,  and  was  alone  drawn  into  the  vortex ;  in  him  who 
yielded  up  his  life  on  the  cross  in  testimony  of  his  divine 
mission  to  “bring  life  and  immortality  to  light,”  —  in  all 
those  noble,  self-sacrificing  souls  who  suffer  and  die  that 
others  may  live.  These  are  the  higher  aspects  of  the  instinct 
of  self-preservation ;  for  that  instinct  in  man  pertains  not 
alone  to  the  preservation  of  the  individual  life,  but  to  that 
of  the  species  to  which  it  belongs.  It  is  just  as  much  a 
matter  of  instinct  to  sacrifice  one’s  own  life  for  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  the  lives  of  others  as  it  is  to  shrink  from  imminent 
peril  when  one’s  own  safety  is  alone  involved.  In  a  word, 
when  the  lives  of  others  are  at  stake,  cowardice  is  a  purely 
abnormal  manifestation  of  that  instinct.  Heroic  self-sacrifice, 
when  others  are  in  peril,  is  alone  normal.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  the  principle  of  “  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number  ”  is  the  ultimate  form  of  the  evolutionary  develop¬ 
ment  of  what  has  been  regarded  as  the  most  purely  selfish 
instinct.  In  the  lower  animals  it  is  a  purely  selfish,  individu¬ 
alized  instinct.  In  man  it  rises  to  the  dignity  of  what,  for 
the  want  of  a  better  term,  may  be  designated  as  ego-altruism, 
—  the  cegis  of  all  humanity. 

It  may  be  asked,  “Why,  if  every  faculty  has  its  use  or 
object,  is  the  brute  endowed  with  two  minds,  if  neither  ol 
its  minds  is  destined  to  a  future  life?  In  other  words,  why 
does  not  the  dual-mind  hypothesis  argue  immortality  for  the 
brute  as  cogently  as  it  does  for  the  man?  ”  It  may  as  well 
be  asked,  “Why  does  not  the  possession  of  two  eyes  prove 
that  the  brute  is  destined  to  become  a  man?”  Or,  “Why 
does  not  the  presence,  in  various  species  of  animals,  of  the 
rudimentary  physical  structure  of  man,  argue  that  each 
individual  animal  is  destined  to  become  a  man?”  The 
answer  to  all  these  questions  is  the  same ;  namely,  The 
creation  of  the  physical  and  the  psychical  man  is  the  goal 


^^1 


266 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


toward  which  Nature  has  tended  from  the  beginning ;  but 
it  was  through  the  processes  of  evolution  that  both  body  and 
soul  were  created. 

Man’s  physical  structure,  in  rudimentary  form,  is  found 
in  the  animals  from  which  he  was  evolved ;  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  the  individual  animal  is  to  become  a  man. 
Man’s  psychical  organism  is  found,  in  rudimentary  form,  in 
the  brute  creation,  the  same  dual  mental  organism  being 
present  in  all  animate  Nature  ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
the  individual  brute  is  to  inherit  immortality.  The  rudi¬ 
mentary  form  of  man  in  the  animal  rendered  it  possible  for 
the  processes  of  evolution  to  culminate  in  the  creation  of 
the  perfected  physical  man.  The  rudimentary  psychical 
organism  in  the  animal  rendered  it  possible  for  evolution  to 
elevate  the  embryotic  soul  to  the  full  stature  of  a  living, 
conscious,  individualized  entity,  capable,  under  certain  con¬ 
ditions,  existent  in  man  alone,  of  sustaining  an  existence 
independently  of  the  physical  organism. 

The  primary  condition  precedent  to  the  attainment  of  such 
an  existence  is  necessarily  that  of  consciousness.  It  is 
axiomatic  that  no  individualized  existence  worthy  of  the 
name  can  be  sustained  by  a  living  organism,  physical  or 
psychical,  in  the  absence  of  consciousness.  It  is  also 
obvious  that  an  animal  can  have  no  consciousness  of  the 
possession  of  a  soul.  Nor  can  the  soul  be  conscious  of 
itself  in  the  absence  of  any  suggestion  or  information  con¬ 
veyed  to  it  by  objective  education.  Jesus,  who  was  mas¬ 
ter  of  the  science  of  the  soul,  drew  the  line,  on  strictly 
scientific  principles,  between  the  man  and  the  brute,  when 
he  proclaimed  the  law  that  belief  —  faith  —  was  the  essential 
prerequisite  to  the  attainment  of  immortal  life.1  “  Faith,” 
in  the  sense  in  which  Jesus  employed  the  term,  means  much 
more  than  “  belief,”  although  the  latter  is  included  in  the 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  important  problem,  see  “  The  Law 
of  Psychic  Phenomena,”  ch.  xxv. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


267 


term.  Faith,  in  the  psychic  sense,  and  that  is  the  sense  in 
which  Jesus  employed  it,  is  conscious  pote?itiality.  It  is  a 
power ;  it  is  the  power  of  the  soul.  All  psychic  phenomena 
demonstrate  that  proposition.  Without  it  there  can  be  no 
psychic  phenomena  beyond  the  exercise  of  the  purely 
animal  instincts.  It  is  the  creature  of  suggestion.  Sug¬ 
gestion  alone  awakens  it  into  existence ;  suggestion  can 
utterly  destroy  it.  Inasmuch  as  no  suggestion  of  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  immortal  life  can  be  conveyed  to  the  embryotic 
soul  of  the  brute,  the  conscious  potentiality  requisite  to  the 
sustentation  of  independent  existence  does  not  exist ;  and  it 
obviously  cannot  exist  in  other  than  an  intelligent  being. 

And  this  remark,  according  to  the  philosophy  of  Jesus, 
applies  to  all  the  brute  creation,  whether  it  is  embodied  in 
the  form  of  animals  or  of  men. 

It  is  thought  that  enough  has  now  been  said  to  make  a 
prima  facie  case,  because  I  have  shown  :  1 .  That  there  is  a 
basis  in  the  mental  organism  of  man  upon  which  the  hypoth¬ 
esis  of  a  future  life  can  be  postulated,  in  that  («)  there  are 
two  minds,  ( h )  the  subjective  mind  does  not  necessarily  A- -■*-<■-*  J- 
perish  with  the  brain;  2.  That  no  other  rational  hy- :  / 

pothesis,  which  will  account  for  all  the  facts,  psychical  and 
physical,  has  yet  been  formulated. 


Vr<-vX  Z-&-V  y 

V** '"CL  ^ 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FACULTIES  BELONGING  TO  A  FUTURE  LIFE. 


The  Necessity  for  limiting  the  Powers  of  the  Subjective  Mind  in  this 
Life.  —  Man  a  Free  Moral  Agent.  —  The  Law  of  Suggestion  a 
Necessity. —  Limitations  of  Power  pertain  only  to  this  Life. — 
Induction  unnecessary  in  the  Future  Life.  —  Intuition  takes  its 
Place.  —  Induction  Impossible  when  the  Power  of  Perception  ex¬ 
ists. —  The  Higher  Intuitional  Powers  Useless  in  this  Life.  —  The 
Power  of  Correct  Deduction  in  Man  and  Animals. 

Y\  JE  will  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  those 
’  ’  peculiar  powers,  functions,  and  limitations  of  the 
subjective  mind  which  seem  to  be  especially  adapted  to  a 
future  life.  In  doing  so,  the  mental  faculties  will,  for  con¬ 
venience,  be  divided  into  three  classes,  namely:  i.  Those 
which  belong  exclusively  to  the  subjective  mind;  2.  Those 
which  belong  exclusively  to  the  objective  mind;  and,  3. 
Those  powers  possessed  in  common  by  the  two  minds, 
differing  only  in  degree.  They  will  be  considered  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  the  order  named,  although  it  will  be 
necessary  in  some  cases  to  group  two  or  more  and  consider 
them  together. 

Before  proceeding,  however,  I  desire  to  impress  upon  the 
mind  of  the  reader  the  fundamental  axiom  mentioned  in  the 
chapter  preceding  ;  namely,  that  There  is  no  faculty ,  emotion , 
or  organism  of  the  human  mind  that  has  not  its  function, 
use,  or  object.  A  moment’s  reflection  will  be  sufficient  to 
extort  the  assent  of  every  logical  mind  to  this  proposition. 
If  any  one  will  try  to  imagine  the  contrary  or  opposite 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  269 

proposition  to  be  true,  he  will  find  that  it  is  absolutely  and 
unqualifiedly  unthinkable.  I  lay  particular  stress  upon  this 
proposition  for  reasons  that  will  more  fully  appear  as  we 
proceed.  In  the  mean  time  it  will  be  obvious  to  every 
logician  that  any  legitimate  conclusion  derivable  from  a 
proposition  so  far-reaching  and  so  perfectly  self-evident, 
must  necessarily  be  invested  with  a  profound  significance. 

We  have  now  three  fundamental  propositions  to  start  with, 
each  of  which  is  either  self-evident  or  is  demonstrable  by 
reference  to  the  facts  of  experimental  psychology,  cerebral 
anatomy,  or  experimental  surgery.  They  are  :  — 

1.  Man  has  a  dual  mind. 

2.  Each  of  the  two  minds  has  powers,  functions,  and 
limitations  which  clearly  differentiate  it  from  the  other. 

3.  Each  power,  function,  and  limitation  necessarily  has 
its  use,  function  or  object. 

The  first  and  second  of  these  propositions  have  been 
clearly  demonstrated  by  the  facts  of  experimental  psy¬ 
chology,  cerebral  anatomy,  and  experimental  surgery.  The 
third  is  axiomatic. 

I  will  now  add  a  fourth  proposition  which  will  complete 
the  chain  of  logical  premises  necessary  to  a  complete  demon¬ 
stration  of  a  future  life  for  mankind.  It  is  this  :  — 

4.  There  is  no  power,  faculty,  function,  or  limitation  of 
the  subjective  mind,  which  is  peculiar  to  itself  and  which 
clearly  differentiates  it  from  the  objective  mind,  that  has 
any  normal  use  or  function  in  a  purely  physical  existence. 

No  one  will  deny  that,  if  this  proposition  can  be  sub¬ 
stantiated,  the  conclusion  that  man  is  heir  to  a  future  life 
is  irresistible ;  for  if  every  faculty  has  its  use,  and  the  sub 
jective  mind  has  faculties  that  are  of  no  use  in  a  physical 
life,  it  follows  that  those  faculties  pertain  to  a  life  or  existence 
untrammelled  by  physical  limitations.  This  conclusion  is  as 
scientifically  correct  as  it  would  be  to  predicate  the  capacity 
to  navigate  the  air,  of  an  animal  with  wings;  or  the  capacity 


2~0  A  SC1EXTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

to  fly,  swim,  and  walk,  of  a  fowl  with  wings  and  webbed 
feet. 

If  anything  were  needed  to  add  logical  weight  to  this 
argument,  it  will  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  converse  of 
the  fourth  proposition  is  also  true  ;  namely,  — 

There  is  no  power,  faculty,  function,  or  limitation  of  the 
objective  mind,  which  is  peculiar  to  itself  and  which  clearly 
differentiates  it  from  the  subjective  mind,  that  could  have  any 
possible  use  or  function  in  any  but  a  physical  life. 

Standing  by  itself,  this  proposition  is  purely  negative  so 
far  as  the  question  of  a  future  life  is  concerned.  But,  con¬ 
sidered  with  reference  to  the  fourth  proposition,  it  affords  a 
contrast  which  is  as  striking  as  it  is  important,  in  that  it 
demonstrates  that  the  two  minds  are  adapted  to  two  differ¬ 
ent  planes  of  existence,  and  that  neither  is  adapted  to  the 
other. 

We  will  first  consider  the  bearing  of  the  law  of  sugges¬ 
tion,  and  its  corollary,  tire  limitation  of  the  reasoning 
powers  of  the  subjective  mind,  together  with  its  power  of 
intuitive  perception  or  cognition  of  the  laws  of  Nature.  As 
we  have  already  seen,  these  powers  and  limitations  are  pecu¬ 
liar  to  the  subjective  mind.  It  has  also  been  pointed  out 
that  the  limitation  of  power  incident  to  its  control  by  sug¬ 
gestion  is  a  necessity,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  one  mind 
must  necessarily  be  normally  under  the  absolute  control  of 
the  other  if  harmonious  relations  are  to  be  maintained. 

There  are  an  infinite  number  of  reasons  why  the  objec¬ 
tive  mind  should  be  invested  with  that  responsibility,  and 
I  certainly  know  of  none  against  it.  The  first,  and  perhaps 
the  most  important,  is  that  in  no  other  way  could  the  objec¬ 
tive  man  —  the  human  entity  —  be  made  and  held  respon¬ 
sible  for  the  moral  status  of  his  own  soul.  In  other  words, 
it  is  by  this  means,  and  by  this  alone,  that  man  is  consti¬ 
tuted  a  free  moral  agent.  The  objective  man,  being  en¬ 
dowed  with  the  power  to  reason  by  all  methods,  his  mind 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


2J I 


being  pure  intellect  and  destitute  of  emotion,  is  manifestly 
best  fitted  for  the  exercise  of  that  judicial  power  —  that 
absolute  sovereignty  —  which  must  of  necessity  reside  in 
one  or  the  other  of  the  two  minds.  On  the  other  hand  the 
subjective  entity,  being  the  seat  of  the  emotions,  and  charged 
in  this  life  with  but  the  three  normal  functions,  which  con¬ 
stitute  the  master  passions  of  all  animate  Nature,  must  neces¬ 
sarily  be  under  the  dominion  of  some  moral  force  capable 
of  restraining  and  regulating  those  passions  and  directing 
their  current  into  legitimate  channels.  Otherwise  man 
could  never  have  been  elevated  above  the  level  of  the 
brute ;  certainly  not  above  the  status  of  the  most  primitive 
savagery.  Civilization  would  be  impossible,  morality  would 
be  nameless,  and  religion  non-existent.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  for  the  purposes  of  this  life  the  law  of  suggestion  is  a 
necessity.  If  this  life  were  all,  and  the  three  normal  func¬ 
tions  of  the  subjective  mind  were  all  that  pertained  to  it,  it 
might  well  be  asked,  why  the  necessity  of  a  dual  mind  ?  And 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  rational  answer.  But  when 
we  postulate  a  future  life  for  man,  we  find  ample  reason, 
not  only  for  two  minds,  but  for  the  limitation  of  power  in 
the  subjective  mind.  For  it  must  now  be  observed  and 
borne  in  mind  that  those  limitations  of  power  pertain  ex¬ 
clusively  to  this  life.  But  why  the  necessity  for  limiting 
the  reasoning  faculties  of  the  subjective  mind,  thus  depriv¬ 
ing  it  of  that  power  which  invests  the  objective  mind  with 
its  supremacy  and  dominion  over  the  forces  of  Nature  ?  There 
are  two  answers  to  this  question.  The  first  is  that  it  is  a  cor¬ 
ollary  of  the  law  of  suggestion  :  for  that  law  could  not  exist 
if  the  subjective  mind  possessed  the  power  to  reason  inde¬ 
pendently,  and  it  is  therefore  an  absolute  necessity  for  the 
purposes  of  this  life.  The  second  answer  is  twofold,  — 
Firstly,  there  is  obviously  no  necessity  for  the  subjective 
mind  to  possess  such  a  faculty,  even  if  it  were  possible  for 
the  two  minds  to  exist  together  in  harmony,  since  the  objec- 


272 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


tive  mind  possesses  it  and  is  the  controlling  and  responsible 
power  in  this  life.  Secondly,  the  power  of  the  subjective  mind 
to  reason  inductively  is  neither  necessary  nor  possible,  for  the 
reaso?i  that  it  is  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  intuitive  percep- 
tion  or  cognitioti  of  Nature' s  laws,  independently  of  objective 
education. 

A  few  words  will  make  this  proposition  plain  to  the  most 
superficial  reader.  What  is  induction?  Induction  is  a 
method  of  inquiry.  It  is  the  slow  and  laborious  process  of 
investigation  by  which  the  dull  and  plodding  objective  mind 
of  man  is  enabled  to  learn  something  of  the  laws  which 
govern  the  universe.  It  is  the  one  faculty  which  enables 
him  to  be  certain  that  he  knows  something.  It  is  the  one 
weapon  which  enables  him  to  conquer  the  forces  of  Nature. 
It  lends  accu.acy  to  learning,  permanency  to  progress,  and 
stability  to  civilization.  But  it  is  of  the  earth,  earthy  ;  for  it 
belongs  alone  to  the  objective  mind.  It  is  a  function  of  the 
brain,  a  product  of  organic  evolution,  a  faculty  developed  in 
response  to  the  necessities  of  man’s  physical  environment.  I 
repeat,  —  it  is  of  the  earth,  earthy.  It  can  have  no  place,  or 
power,  or  function  in  the  future  life,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
it  is  not  a  necessity  of  that  plane  of  existence.  It  is  not  a  ne¬ 
cessity,  for  the  reason  that  the  soul  possesses  that  power  of  in¬ 
tuitive  perception  or  cognition  of  Nature’s  laws  which  renders 
any  process  of  laborious  inquiry  in  the  nature  of  induction 
superfluous,  —  impossible.  And  this  is  why  I  have  said  that 
inductive  reasoning  is  neither  necessary  nor  possible  to  the 
subjective  mind.  It  perceives ;  and  its  power  of  percep¬ 
tion  as  far  transcends  the  power  of  induction  as  Omniscience 
transcends  the  powers  of  sense.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  power  of 
Omniscience,  and  its  possession  by  the  human  soul  demon¬ 
strates  its  kinship  to  God  ;  for  God  himself  cannot  reason 
inductively.  Induction,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  is  a 
finite  process  of  inquiry  into  something  which  finite  man 
does  not  already  know.  To  suppose  an  omniscient  God  to 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


27$ 


be  capable  of  induction  would  be  a  contradiction  in  terms 
as  gross  as  it  would  be  to  say  that  a  triangle  is  rectangular. 

Again,  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  power  of  intui¬ 
tive  perception  of  Nature’s  laws  has  no  legitimate  place  in 
earthly  life.  This  is  amply  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that 
only  occasional  glimpses  of  phenomena  can  be  obtained 
which  render  it  certain  that  the  power  exists  as  a  part  of 
the  mental  equipment  of  the  subjective  mind ;  and  these 
glimpses  can  only  be  obtained  under  the  most  intensely 
abnormal  conditions  of  the  body  or  of  the  objective  mind, 
or  of  both.  This  is  a  fact  within  the  knowledge  of  the  most 
superficial  observer,  but  it  will  be  more  fully  dealt  with  in  a 
subsequent  chapter. 

Furthermore,  its  lack  of  legitimate  function  in  this  life  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that,  outside  of  the  domains  where 
demonstration  by  other  means  is  possible,  we  can  never  be 
certain  of  the  verity  of  subjective  perception,  owing  to  the 
ever-present  power  of  suggestion.  That  is  to  say,  when  the 
power  of  perception  is  exercised,  say,  in  the  field  of  mathe¬ 
matics,  we  have  the  means  of  testing  the  accuracy  of  the 
alleged  perceptions ;  but  when  we  have  not  the  means  of 
verifying  the  alleged  facts,  we  can  never  avail  ourselves  of 
the  alleged  information,  for  the  reason  that  we  cannot  know 
to  what  extent  the  law  of  suggestion  has  operated  as  a  factor 
in  the  case. 

It  comes  to  this,  therefore,  that  we  can  never  be  certain 
of  the  accuracy  of  alleged  intuitions,  unless  they  are  other¬ 
wise  verified ;  and  they  cannot  be  verified  except  by  the 
exercise  of  the  powers  of  objective  reason. 

It  follows  that,  so  far  as  the  mental  operations  of  this 
life  are  concerned,  the  subjective  powers  of  intuitive  per¬ 
ception  are  superfluous  and  useless.  If  they  were  not  so, 
that  is,  if  they  were  normal,  and  could  be  depended  upon 
as  a  source  of  information,  the  objective  powers  of  reason 
would  be  superfluous,  and  therefore  useless. 


2/4 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


Before  we  close  this  branch  of  the  subject,  one  word  must 
be  said  concerning  the  transcendent  power,  possessed  by 
the  subjective  mind,  of  correct  deduction  from  given  or 
suggested  premises.  Although  this  power  differs  only  in 
degree  from  the  corresponding  faculty  possessed  by  the 
objective  mind,  it  must,  for  obvious  reasons,  be  considered 
in  connection  with  the  other  reasoning  faculties.  This 
faculty  is  an  essential  concomitant  to  the  law  of  suggestion. 
The  power  of  suggestion  would  be  of  little  avail  if  the  sub¬ 
jective  mind  could  not  correctly  deduce  all  legitimate  con¬ 
clusions  from  the  premises  embraced  in  a  suggestion.  It  is 
true  that  wrong  or  absurd  suggestions  will  lead  to  wrong 
and  absurd  conclusions  ;  but  the  conclusions  will  be  logi¬ 
cally  correct  whether  the  premises  are  true  or  false.  This 
is  inevitable  from  the  very  perfection  of  the  faculty  of  de¬ 
duction  ;  but  it  is  compensated  for  in  many  ways,  for  it 
becomes  a  factor  of  the  utmost  value  when  a  correct  sug¬ 
gestion  is  made.  For  instance,  in  the  moral  training 
of  the  subjective  mind  of  a  child,  if  it  is  punished  for 
stealing  from  or  lying  about  John  Doe,  the  lesson  that  it 
learns  is,  not  simply  that  it  is  wrong  to  injure  John  Doe, 
but  that  it  is  wrong  to  tell  a  falsehood  or  to  appropriate  the 
property  of  others.  It  is,  however,  too  obvious  to  need 
illustration,  that  no  suggestion  could  be  intelligently  carried 
into  effect  in  the  absence  of  this  faculty  of  logical  deduction. 

The  same  faculty  is  possessed  by  animals ;  and,  together 
with  the  power  of  suggestion  over  the  animal  kingdom,  it 
constitutes  the  prime  factor  in  the  combination  of  causes 
which  enables  man  to  assert  and  maintain  his  dominion 
over  the  beasts  of  the  field.  A  single  illustration  will  suffice. 
The  first  step  which  an  intelligent  trainer  takes  in  break¬ 
ing  a  horse  is  to  throw  the  animal,  and  hold  it  down  until 
it  ceases  to  struggle.  When  this  is  accomplished,  half  the 
battle  is  won ;  and  although  other  means  to  the  same  end 
may  be  adopted,  they  all  tend  to  demonstrate  to  the  horse 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


275 


that  his  trainer  has  absolute  power  and  dominion  over  him. 
The  rest  is  easy  when  gentle  kindness  and  persuasion  are 
employed  to  teach  the  animal  his  duties.  Now,  the  first 
and  most  essential  step  named  constitutes  a  suggestion  to 
the  animal  that  his  trainer  possesses  complete  mastery  over 
him,  and  that  it  is  useless  to  struggle  against  superior  physical 
force.  This  suggestion,  however,  per  se,  applies  only  to  the 
individual  trainer ;  and  but  for  the  faculty  of  deduction,  no 
one  but  the  trainer  could  drive  the  animal.  But  the  horse, 
from  the  suggestion  that  his  trainer  has  power  over  him, 
deduces  the  conclusion  that  other  men  possess  the  same 
power.  Otherwise  every  new  driver  would  be  obliged  to 
rebreak  the  horse. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  subjective  faculty  of  correct 
logical  deduction  from  suggested  premises  possesses  a  far- 
reaching  significance,  and  importance  in  matters  of  every¬ 
day  experience  in  this  life.  Concerning  the  part  it  may 
play  in  the  mental  operations  incident  to  the  life  to  come, 
it  would,  perhaps,  be  useless  to  speculate ;  although  its  con¬ 
comitance  with  the  faculty  of  intuitional  perception  is  too 
obvious  to  require  comment. 

Having  briefly  discussed  the  reasoning  powers  of  the  two 
minds,  we  may  now  pause  to  take  our  bearings  and  find 
where  we  stand  at  this  stage  of  the  argument. 

We  have  located  and  found  a  use  for  every  reasoning  or 
intuitional  faculty  of  the  two  minds  save  one.  We  have 
found  :  — 

1.  That  the  faculty  of  induction  belongs  exclusively  to 
the  objective  mind,  and  hence  pertains  exclusively  to 
earthly  life. 

2.  That  the  faculty  of  intuitional  perception  belongs 
exclusively  to  the  subjective  mind. 

3.  That  this  faculty  of  intuitional  perception  performs 
no  normal  function  in  earthly  life,  as  is  clearly  shown  by 
reference  to  the  facts,  — 


276  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 

a.  That  we  catch  only  occasional  glimpses  of  that  faculty 
in  the  subjective  mind,  and  know  with  certainty  of  its  exist¬ 
ence  only  by  and  through  abnormal  means  and  the  most 
intensely  abnormal  conditions  of  the  objective  mind  and  of 
the  body. 

b.  That,  owing  to  the  law  of  suggestion,  no  conclusions 
arrived  at  by  alleged  intuitional  processes  can  be  relied 
upon  in  this  life  unless  they  are  verified  by  objective 
methods  of  investigation. 

c.  That  the  labor  incident  to  verification  is  at  least 
equivalent  to  that  of  making  an  original  investigation  of  the 
subject-matter. 

d.  It  is,  therefore,  not  only  abnormal,  but  superfluous 
and  worse  than  useless  on  the  physical  plane. 

The  conclusion  seems  irresistible  that  at  least  the  purely 
intellectual  part  of  the  subjective  entity  belongs  exclusively 
to  a  future  existence. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  DYNAMIC  FORCES  OF  THE  MIND. 

The  Buddhistic  Nirvana.  —  A  purely  Intellectual  Existence  without 
Memory,  Emotion,  or  Personality. — The  Basis  of  their  Philoso¬ 
phy. —  Incomplete  Observation  of  Psychic  Powers.  —  Ignorance 
of  the  Law  of  Suggestion.  —  Requisites  for  the  Retention  of  Per¬ 
sonality. —  Memory.  —  Consciousness.  —  Will.  —  Will  is  Desire. 
—  The  Strongest  Desire  of  the  Soul.  —  Egoism  and  Egotism  of 
the  Soul.  —  Egoism  the  Normal  Desire  for  Retention  of  Person¬ 
ality. —  Egotism  Abnormal  Self-Conceit.  —  The  Dynamics  of  the 
Soul.  —  The  Kinetic  Force  of  the  Soul. 

TT  has  now  been  shown  that  the  subjective  entity  possesses 
*■  all  the  mental  equipment  necessary  for  an  enjoyable 
existence  as  a  purely  intellectual  being,  without  being  the 
possessor  of  any  of  the  faculties  which  have  been  desig¬ 
nated  as  belonging  exclusively  to  the  objective  mind. 

It  may  be  remarked,  in  passing,  that  the  possession  of 
the  intuitional  faculty  alone  would,  to  the  disembodied  soul, 
constitute  practically  the  Buddhistic  Nirvana,  and  would 
doubtless  nearly  approach  the  ideal  of  the  average  Yogi, 
who  begins  his  search  for  divine  illumination  by  severing 
every  domestic  tie,  repudiating  every  social  obligation, 
suppressing  every  human  emotion,  and  strangling  every 
human  affection  ;  and  pursues  his  quest  for  truth  by  sitting 
on  his  haunches,  thinking  about  himself,  and  trying  to  stare 
his  umbilicus  out  of  countenance.  He  seeks  for  “eman¬ 
cipation  ”  from  every  human  passion,  and  contemplates 
with  calm  indifference  the  prospect  of  the  annihilation  of 
his  individuality  :  he  longs  for  absorption  into  the  Deity, 


278  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

for  rest  in  Nirvana.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  strange  that  the 
average  Hindu  should  regard  absolute  rest  as  the  acme  of 
human  felicity.  His  climate,  his  social  and  political  envi¬ 
ronment,  his  diet,  his  habits  of  body  and  of  thought,  the 
fauna  of  his  native  land,  and  the  character  of  his  Western 
proselytes,  —  all  have  a  tendency  to  aggravate  that  feeling 
of  weariness  which  seems  to  involve  both  body  and  soul,- 
and  to  be  congenite  with  the  whole  Oriental  race. 

The  Hindu  philosophy  of  a  future  life  is  based  largely, 
if  not  wholly,  upon  an  observation  of  that  one  faculty  of 
the  subjective  mind  to  which  I  have  just  alluded ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  salient  feature  of  the  subjective  phenomena 
of  the  Yogis,  et  id  genus  omne,  consists  in  entering  that 
hypnotic  state  known  as  “  ecstasy.”  In  that  state  they 
become  “  illuminated,”  as  they  term  it ;  and  they  imagine 
that  they  come  into  direct  communion  with  the  Deity,  and 
that  they  are  put  in  possession  of  all  knowledge,  and  a  large 
share  of  the  deific  power.  In  short,  they  identify  them¬ 
selves  with  the  Deity,  in  imagination  ;  and  they  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  they  have  penetrated  the  secret  of  a  future 
life,  and  are  enabled  to  define  its  conditions.  Now,  al¬ 
though  there  are  as  many  different  sects  in  India  as  there 
are  in  Christendom,  and  although  their  views  are  as  widely 
diverse  regarding  non-essentials,  yet  they  all  agree  upon  one 
point ;  namely,  that  the  ultimate  destiny  of  man  is  to  be 
absorbed  into  Deity,  and  identified  with  him.  In  the 
Buddhistic  philosophy  this  means  utter  annihilation  of 
individuality.  Of  course  the  different  sects  hold  diverse 
views  even  on  this  point ;  but  this  seems  to  be  the  general 
trend  of  both  the  Brahmanist  and  the  Buddhist  doctrine 
of  a  future  life.  That  question,  however,  is  unimportant  for 
our  present  purpose.  The  significant  point  is  that  they 
have  arrived  at  the  general  conclusion,  from  an  observation 
of  the  phenomenon  of  ecstasy,  that  soul  is  ultimately 
absorbed  into  the  Deity,  and  thereby  comes  into  possession 


DF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


279 


of  all  knowledge,  power,  and  dominion.  Now,  that  con¬ 
dition  is  identical  with  the  one  in  which  the  faculty  of 
intuitive  perception  or  cognition  of  truth  is  oftenest 
observed.  It  is  seen  in  other  states  or  conditions,  to  be 
sure,  from  that  of  apparent  normality  up  to  ecstasy ;  but 
the  last  condition  is  the  one  in  which  it  is  most  frequently 
observed,  and  it  is  the  one  in  which  it  can  be  experimen¬ 
tally  reproduced.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  Indian 
adepts  have  occasionally  found  that  some  of  their  intui¬ 
tional  perceptions  could  be  verified,  as  by  some  mathemat¬ 
ical  process ;  or  the  faculty  of  telepathy  may  have  been 
developed,  and  the  information  obtained  in  that  way  may 
have  occasionally  been  found  to  be  veridical.  A  few 
circumstances  of  that  character  would  inevitably  lead  that 
class  of  minds  to  the  conclusion  that  all  impression  felt 
while  in  the  ecstatic  condition  were  revelations  of  divine 
truth.  I  say  that  that  conclusion  would  be  inevitable,  just 
as  the  phenomena  of  spiritism  has  inevitably  led  the  same 
class  of  minds  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  produced  by 
spirits  of  the  dead.  But  this  must  be  said  in  extenuation 
of  both  conclusions ;  namely,  that  until  the  law  of  sugges¬ 
tion  was  discovered,  there  was  no  other  rational  hypothesis 
which  could  explain  all  the  phenomena.  In  the  mean  time 
there  were  but  two  paths  open  to  the  scientific  mind.  One 
was  to  accept  the  phenomena  for  what  they  purported  to 
be ;  the  other  to  deny  their  existence.  To  explain  them 
on  scientific  principles,  in  the  absence  of  any  knowledge  of 
the  law  of  suggestion  or  of  the  power  of  telepathy,  was 
impossible.  These  discoveries,  however,  have  changed  the 
whole  aspect  of  the  questions  involved,  and  relegate  the 
visions  of  ecstatics  to  the  category  of  subjective  hallucina¬ 
tions  induced  by  suggestion. 

If  anything  were  needed  to  demonstrate  the  proposition 
that  ecstatic  visions  do  not  reveal  scientific  truth,  it  would 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  there  are  many  different  sects  in 


28o 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


the  Orient,  each  of  whose  doctrines  is  based  upon  the 
phenomena  of  ecstasy,  and  yet  they  are  so  divergent  that 
they  are  scarcely  recognizable  as  springing  from  the  same 
root.  Surely,  if  ecstatic  visions  reveal  divine  truth,  there 
can  be  no  room  for  difference  of  opinion  among  those 
favored  mortals  to  whom  it  is  thus  revealed. 

The  truth  is,  that  the  whole  of  the  vast  fabric  of  Oriental 
philosophy  is  based  upon  psychic  phenomena  produced  in 
utter  ignorance  of  the  law  of  suggestion ;  and  as  that  law 
is  fundamental,  universal,  and  never-failing  in  its  operations 
so  long  as  the  soul  inhabits  the  body,  it  follows  that  Hindu 
philosophy  is  destitute  of  any  scientific  value  whatever. 

The  ever-ready  answer  to  this  is  the  declaration  that  in 
the  ecstatic  condition  the  subject  is  lifted  into  a  higher 
spiritual  realm,  where  he  is  exempted  from  the  laws  which 
govern  ordinary  mortals,  where  the  law  of  suggestion  no 
longer  prevails,  and  where  all  truth  stands  revealed  to 
the  “  disenthralled  cosmic  consciousness,”  whatever  that 
may  mean.  In  other  words,  they  simply  beg  the  question. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  Oriental  ecstatics  have  many  and 
a  constantly  growing  number  of  feeble  imitators  in  the 
Western  world,  who  are  assiduously  practising  self-hypnoti- 
zation  with  a  view  of  coming  into  “  conscious  communion 
with  the  Deity,”  etc.,  etc.  They,  too,  are  instructed  that 
in  the  “  higher  spiritual  realm  ”  they  are  exempted  from  that 
inconvenient  law  of  suggestion  which  prevails  so  extensively 
among  less  favored  mortals  “  on  the  lower  psychic  plane,” 
and  that  consequently  their  visions  are  veridical  —  their 
imaginings  are  the  essence  of  divine  truth  imbibed  directly 
from  its  divine  source.  It  is  useless  to  remind  that  class  of 
minds  that  all  the  facts  of  psychic  science  conspire  to 
demonstrate  that  the.  law  of  suggestion  is  the  universal, 
ever-present,  all-potent  factor  which  governs  the  manifesta¬ 
tions  of  the  soul  so  long  as  it  retains  its  connection  with  the 
body.  It  is  useless  to  challenge  them  to  produce  one  fact 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


281 


that  militates  against  that  proposition ;  for  scientifically 
verified  facts  are  not  to  their  liking  when  such  facts  do  .not 
harmonize  with  their  emotions.  It  is  a  thankless  task  to 
warn  them  that  such  practices  are  abnormal  to  the  last 
degree,  destructive  to  the  nervous  organization,  weakening 
to  the  objective  intellect,  and,  instead  of  being  promotive 
of  spiritual  growth,  constitute  the  direct  path  to  spiritual 
imbecility.  It  is  even  useless  to  try  to  encourage  them 
by  explaining  to  them  that  the  faculties  which  they  are 
trying  to  use  amidst  the  trammels  of  the  flesh  and  the 
limitations  of  the  law  of  suggestion,  are  faculties  which  are 
normal  only  to  a  future  life,  when  the  soul  is  freed  from  its 
earthly  limitations,  and  is  thereby  enabled  to  exercise  those 
intuitional  powers  of  perception  which  belong  only  to  a 
realm  of  truth.  They  are  not  content  to  await  their  allotted 
time,  but  rush  unbidden  to  the  gates  of  heaven,  determined 
to  penetrate  the  secrets  which  Jesus  withheld  from  all 
mankind,  and  which  must  forever  remain  a  mystery  to 
incarnate  man. 

I  remarked,  in  the  beginning  of  this  digression,  that  “  the 
possession  of  the  intuitional  faculty  alone  would,  to  the  dis¬ 
embodied  soul,  constitute  the  Buddhistic  Nirvana.”  I  mean 
by  this  remark  that,  if  this  faculty  of  the  soul  constituted 
the  only  one  which  it  carries  with  it  into  a  future  life,  it 
would  correspond  exactly  with  the  Brahmanist  idea  of  the 
status  and  capacity  of  the  perfected  soul.  It  would  be  a 
purely  intellectual  being,  destitute  of  emotion,  and  therefore 
divested  of  all  human  interest  or  affection,  bereft  of  memory, 
and  therefore  of  individuality,  and  possessing  only  what  is 
vaguely  termed  a  “  cosmic  consciousness,”  which  seems  to 
have  reference  to  nothing  of  human  interest,  if  it  has  any 
definite  meaning  whatever.  We  might  well  suppose  such  a 
being  to  be  destined  to  be  absorbed  into  Brahm  without 
either  loss  to  itself  or  material  gain  to  Brahm. 

To  the  Western  mind,  accustomed  to  regard  a  future  life 


282 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


as  one  fraught  with  human  interest,  such  a  destiny  would 
be  regarded  as  equivalent  to  utter  annihilation.  It  becomes 
important,  therefore,  for  us  to  inquire  whether  there  is  any¬ 
thing  in  the  structure  of  the  subjective  mind  to  warrant  a 
conclusion  so  repugnant  to  every  normal  emotion  of  the 
human  soul. 

In  pursuing  this  inquiry,  the  first  question  which  naturally 
arises  is,  What  is  the  primary  and  most  essential  attribute  or 
power  which  man,  constituted  as  he  is  in  this  life,  most  nat¬ 
urally  desires  his  soul  to  possess  as  a  means  of  enjoyment  in 
a  life  to  come  ?  Clearly,  the  answer  of  every  normally  con¬ 
stituted  person  would  be,  The  retentio?i  of  conscious  indi¬ 
viduality.  It  is  obvious  that  all  other  enjoyments  depend 
upon  that.  Any  condition,  minus  the  personality,  would  be 
the  equivalent  of  annihilation.  “  What  a  man  is  and  has  in 
himself,”  says  Schopenhauer,  “  in  a  word,  personality,  with 
all  it  entails,  is  the  only  immediate  and  direct  factor  in  his 
happiness  and  welfare.”  This,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
must  be  as  true  of  a  future  life  as  it  is  of  the  present.  If, 
therefore,  it  can  be  shown  that  the  soul  has  the  means  and 
the  power  to  retain  that  personality,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
great  factor  in  man’s  happiness  and  welfare  will  be  present 
in  a  future  life. 

The  three  essential  prerequisites  to  the  retention  of  per¬ 
sonality  are  (i)  Consciousness,  (2)  Memory,  and  (3)  Will. 
Consciousness  and  memory  are  the  two  co-ordinate,  con¬ 
comitant  factors  which  constitute  the  personality  of  each 
individual,  so  far  as  he  himself  is  able  to  realize  it,  or  to 
take  cognizance  of  his  own  existence  as  a  distinct  entity. 
Consciousness  is  the  state  of  being  aware  of  one’s  existence 
and  of  one’s  mental  acts  and  states.  Memory  is  the  faculty 
of  the  mind  by  which  it  retains  the  knowledge  of  previous 
thoughts  or  events  ;  without  memory  there  could  be  no  pos¬ 
sible  retention  of  personality.  What  is  known  of  the  sum 
total  of  a  man’s  experiences  and  qualities  constitutes  his  per- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


383 

sonality  as  it  is  cognized  by  others.  What  one  remembers  of 
those  experiences  constitutes  his  personality  as  cognized  by 
himself.  It  follows  that  one’s  personality  is  more  or  less 
pronounced  in  proportion  to  the  retentiveness  of  his  mem¬ 
ory  ;  just  as  one  is  distinguished  in  the  estimation  of  his 
fellows  in  proportion  to  what  is  known  of  his  characteristics 
as  shown  by  the  known  events  of  his  life.  If,  therefore,  the 
memory  and  the  consciousness  should  be  blotted  out,  the 
being  might  sustain  an  existence,  but  it  would  be  purely 
vegetal.  The  personality  would  remain  only  as  a  memory 
of  those  who  knew  him ;  but,  so  far  as  the  individual  would 
be  concerned,  his  condition  would  be  the  equivalent  of 
annihilation. 

The  intelligent  reader  will  have  anticipated  me  in  what  I 
am  to  say  regarding  the  perfect  memory  of  the  subjective 
mind,  and  the  conclusions  derivable  therefrom.  As  the 
perfection  of  subjective  memory  has  been  again  and  again 
demonstrated,1  it  will  here  be  taken  for  granted.  The  gen¬ 
eral  conclusion  to  be  derived  is  that  the  personality  of  the 
soul  will  be  as  much  more  pronounced  than  that  of  the  ob¬ 
jective,  physical  human  entity  as  the  memory  of  the  former 
exceeds  that  of  the  latter. 

Again  the  reader  must  be  reminded  of  the  fundamental 
axiom  upon  which  this  argument  is  based,  which  is,  in  brief, 
that  there  is  no  useless  faculty  of  the  human  mind.  It  will 
then  be  pertinent  to  inquire  what  possible  function  a  per¬ 
fect  subjective  memory  can  be  supposed  to  perform  if  it  is 
not  what  has  been  indicated?  It  must  be  remembered,  — 

1.  That  the  objective  mind  possesses  a  power  of  recol¬ 
lection  which  is  all-sufficient  for  the  uses  of  this  life.  A 
perfect  subjective  memory  has,  therefore,  no  function  to  per¬ 
form  in  the  intellectual  processes  of  objective  existence. 

2.  That  all  exercise,  on  the  physical  plane,  of  the  powers 
of  the  subjective  mind  are  abnormal,  and  productive  of 

1  See  “The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,”  ch.  iv.,  v. 


284 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


untoward  results  to  the  physical  frame.  It  has,  therefore, 
no  normal  function  pertaining  to  physical  life. 

The  question  then  arises,  What  function  can  it  perform  in 
a  future  life  ?  Clearly  it  is  not  a  necessity  as  an  aid  to  the 
intellectual  processes  of  the  soul ;  for  that  has  been  shown 
to  possess  the  inherent  power  of  intuitional  perception  or 
cognition  of  all  truth.  It  would,  therefore,  be  a  faculty  as 
superfluous  to  the  soul  as  the  faculty  of  reasoning  induc¬ 
tively,  considered  solely  as  an  aid  to  intellectual  develop¬ 
ment,  and  for  the  same  reason. 

There  remains  but  one  other  direction  in  which  we  can 
look  with  reasonable  hope  to  find  a  normal  function  for 
perfect  subjective  memory.  In  that  direction  we  find  three 
functions,  two  of  which  are  concomitant  and  obvious,  and 
the  other  is  inferential  and  speculative. 

The  first  is  what  has  already  been  indicated ;  namely,  it 
enables  the  soul  to  retain  its  personality.  The  second  is 
included  in  the  first ;  namely,  it  enables  the  soul  to  recog¬ 
nize  its  friends,  and,  inferentially,  to  resume  social  relations 
at  will.  Here,  then,  are  ample  functions  for  the  memory  of 
the  soul,  and  they  are  of  weighty  import  in  more  senses 
than  have  been  named  ;  but  these  will  be  reserved  for  future 
consideration.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  present  to  have  shown 
that  the  soul  has  the  prerequisite  faculties  for  the  retention 
of  its  personality,  and  it  remains  to  ascertain  if  it  also  pos¬ 
sesses  the  motive  force  necessary  for  the  purpose.  The 
third  prerequisite  named  is  will. 

Will  is  a  motive  force  :  it  chooses  when  stimulated  by 
desire ;  it  has  its  biological  origin  in  desire.  One’s  will, 
therefore,  is  strong  in  proportion  to  his  desires  regarding 
any  particular  object ;  and,  other  things  being  equal,  his 
ability  to  accomplish  a  particular  end  is  in  exact  proportion 
to  his  strength  of  will,  or  desire  to  do  so.  Without  will, 
therefore,  nothing  can  be  accomplished.  It  is  this  which 
distinguishes  the  man  from  the  brute ;  that  is  to  say,  it  is 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


285 


one  of  the  factors  which  count  for  immortal  life  in  man,  but 
which  is  totally  absent  in  the  brute ;  the  man  wills  to 
retain  his  individuality  after  the  death  of  the  body,  and  he 
alone  has  the  power  and  potentiality  of  a  self-existent 
entity.  The  inchoate  soul  of  the  brute  has  no  conception 
of  a  future  life,  and  hence  no  desire  — no  will  — to  enable 
him  to  retain  his  individuality,  and  no  consciousness  of  the 
possibility  of  any  but  a  physical  life. 

The  strongest  desire  0/  the  human  soul  is  to  retain  its 
personality.  It  is  instinctive ;  that  is  to  say,  it  is  the  ex¬ 
tension  of  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  to  a  future  life. 
It  is  the  higher  manifestation  of  that  instinct,  the  primary 
function  of  which  is  the  preservation  of  the  body,  but 
which  belongs  equally  to  the  soul,  and  performs  its  higher 
function  in  the  preservation  of  its  personality.  Jesus  ex¬ 
pressed,  in  the  strongest  possible  terms,  the  strength  and 
intensity  of  human  desire,  when  he  said,  “  What  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ?  ” 

If  any  one  doubts  the  intensity  of  the  desire  of  the  nor¬ 
mal  man  for  the  retention  of  his  personality,  let  him  try  to 
think  of  some  living  person  with  whom  he  would  be  willing 
to  exchange  personalities.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  a  per¬ 
son  so  utterly  miserable  and  unfortunate  that  he  would  be 
willing  to  blot  out  all  of  the  memories  which  constitute  his 
individuality,  abandon  all  his  hopes  for  the  future,  and  ac¬ 
cept  in  exchange  the  personality  of  the  most  fortunate  per¬ 
son  on  earth.  Such  is  the  inherent  egoism  (not  egotism)  of 
the  subjective  entity. 

Let  not  this  word  be  construed  altogether  in  the  offensive 
sense ;  for  the  emotion  represented  has  a  normal  function 
to  perform  which  is  of  the  most  transcendent  importance. 

It  is  desirable  at  this  point  to  understand  clearly  certain 
very  important  distinctions  which  must  be  drawn  before  the 
subject  can  be  properly  understood.  As  the  dictionaries 


286 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


do  not  make  the  proper  distinctions,  eo  nomine,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  depart  from  the  usual  definitions.  The  word 
“  egotism  ”  being  now  always  employed  in  the  offensive 
sense,  extreme  vanity  and  self-conceit  being  designated  by 
that  term,  it  will  be  retained  to  designate  the  abnormal 
manifestation  of  the  attribute  to  which  I  wish  to  draw  at¬ 
tention.  The  word  “  egoism  ”  has  always  been  defined  as 
synonymous  with  “  egotism,”  except  where  it  is  employed  in 
reference  to  a  certain  school  of  philosophy  supposed  to 
have  been  founded  by  a  sect  of  the  disciples  of  Descartes 
and  Fichte.  But  I  shall  press  the  word  “  egoism  ”  into 
service  to  designate  the  normal  manifestation  of  the  at¬ 
tribute  or  faculty  alluded  to,  partly  to  avoid  coining  a  word, 
but  principally  because  it  happily  expresses  my  exact  mean¬ 
ing.  I  define  “  egoism,”  therefore,  as  the  passionate  desire 
of  the  human  soul for  the  retention  of  its  personality  or  in¬ 
dividuality.  This  represents  the  normal  emotion  and  its 
normal  manifestation ;  and,  as  before  remarked,  it  is  the 
strongest  emotion  of  the  human  soul.  Its  inherent  strength 
and  persistency  is  made  apparent  to  common  observation 
in  the  fact  that  it  manifests  itself  under  all  conditions  of 
abnormal  subjective  mental  activity.  Under  abnormal  con¬ 
ditions,  that  is  to  say,  when  for  any  cause  the  subjective 
mind  is  in  control,  it  is  the  one  never-failing  characteristic 
emotion,  dominant  over  every  other,  and  as  offensive  in 
its  manifestations  as  it  is  colossal  in  its  proportions.  It  is 
ever  present  in  habitual  hypnotic  subjects,  especially  in 
those  who  are  used  for  stage  exhibitions ;  it  is  chronic  in 
adepts,  spirit  mediums,  and  criminals ;  it  assumes  colossal 
proportions  in  actors,  artists,  poets,  and  musicians ;  and  it 
is  the  salient  characteristic  of  hysteria,  genius,  and  insanity. 
Nor  is  it  confined  to  the  classes  named  ;  for  it  characterizes 
all  who  for  any  cause  allow  the  subjective  faculties  to  at¬ 
tain  undue  prominence  in  earthly  life.  These  are  its 
abnormal  manifestations,  and  they  are  abnormal  simply 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


287 


because  they  are  manifested  under  abnormal  mental  and 
physical  conditions.  This  is  “  egotism  ”  in  its  offensive 
sense  ;  and  it  is  the  primary,  fundamental  emotion  which, 
uncontrolled  by  objective  reason,  leads  to  immorality,  vice, 
crime,  and  insanity.  It  belongs  exclusively  to  the  sub¬ 
jective  mind. 

The  corresponding  attribute  of  the  objective  mind  can 
be  appropriately  designated  by  no  other  term  than  that  of 
“  self-respect ;  ”  which  is  concomitant  with  reason,  and 
springs  from  a  consciousness  of  rectitude  and  of  power  equal 
to  all  legitimate  demands.  It  is  that  regard  for  one’s 
character  which  manifests  itself  in  abstention  from  the  per¬ 
formance  of  unworthy  actions.  It  is  always  normal  when 
controlled  by  reason ;  but  when  reason  ceases  to  perform 
its  legitimate  functions,  the  subjective  mind  usurps  its  place 
in  this  respect  as  in  every  other,  and  egotism  in  its  most 
offensive  sense  and  form  is  the  inevitable  result.  These, 
then,  are  the  distinctions  which  must  be  constantly  borne 
in  mind  when  considering  this  most  important  mental 
attribute  of  man. 

That  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  is  manifest  from  the 
one  fact  alone,  which  has  already  been  alluded  to,  that 
“  egoism  ”  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  psychical  or  spir¬ 
itual  entity  that  what  is  known  to  common  observation  as 
“  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  ”  bears  to  the  physical 
man.  The  one  preserves  the  soul ;  the  other  preserves 
the  body.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  one  instinct  of  self-preserva¬ 
tion  manifested  on  both  the  physical  and  the  spiritual 
planes.  On  the  physical  plane  it  has  as  many  ways  of  man¬ 
ifesting  itself  as  there  are  dangers  threatening  the  safety  of 
the  body.  On  the  spiritual  plane  there  is  but  the  one  way 
for  it  to  manifest  itself ;  for  there  is  but  one  possible  danger 
that  threatens  the  existence  of  the  soul,  and  that  is  the 
loss  of  conscious  personality. 

The  acts  and  motive  power  preservative  of  the  physical 


288 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


life  are  dynamic.  The  power  preservative  of  the  spiritual 
life  is  spiritual ;  it  is  the  will,  —  the  initial  motive  force  or 
power  belonging  to  mental  or  spiritual  life. 

Now,  will  being  stimulated  by  desire,  and  the  strongest 
desire  of  the  soul  being  to  retain  its  conscious  personality, 
it  follows  that  the  one  great  element  of  potency  in  the  soul 
expends  its  greatest  energy  in  an  effort  to  retain  its  conscious 
personality  independently  of  physical  conditions. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  “  egoism,”  which  has  heretofore 
been  regarded  as  wholly  abnormal,  is,  in  reality,  a  faculty 
of  the  soul  of  infinite  importance,  having  a  normal  function 
to  perform  which  alone  renders  a  continued  existence  in  a 
future  life  possible.  Egoism,  as  I  have  defined  it,  com¬ 
bined  with  faith,  constitutes  the  mental  dynamics  of  the 
soul.  Without  it  the  soul  would  be  in  much  the  same  con¬ 
dition  as  the  body  would  be  in  the  absence  of  the  instinct 
of  self-preservation.  Without  the  will  or  desire  to  live, 
without  the  instinct  which  causes  the  body  to  shrink  from 
peril,  one  would  be  a  passive  victim  to  the  myriad  adverse 
forces  of  his  environment.  If  he  survived  his  childhood,  it 
would  be  because  of  the  watchful  care  of  others.  What 
would  be  the  fate  of  the  soul,  minus  its  instinctive  clinging 
to  its  personality,  —  minus  the  desire,  the  will,  to  retain 
its  individuality  and  to  sustain  an  independent  existence  as 
a  distinct  entity,  —  what,  in  short,  would  be  its  fate  in  the 
absence  of  the  dynamics  of  the  mind,  can  only  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  logical  deduction.  Thus,  if  faculty  implies  func¬ 
tion,  the  absence  of  faculty  implies  the  absence  of  function. 
If  the  possession  of  legs  implies  the  ability  to  walk,  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  legs  implies  the  antithesis. 

The  argument  on  this  branch  of  the  subject  now  stands 
thus : — 

1.  The  essential  prerequisites  to  the  retention  of  person¬ 
ality  are  (a)  Consciousness  ;  (h)  Memory  ;  ( c )  Will. 

2.  The  soul  has  a  perfect  memory,  which  performs  no 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


289 


normal  function  in  this  life,  and  is  superfluous  in  a  future 
life,  considered  merely  as  an  aid  to  intellectual  work,  in 
view  of  its  power  of  intuitional  perception. 

3.  Corollary  :  Its  ability  to  remember  the  facts  of  its  ex¬ 
perience  can  have  no  use  or  object  other  than  that  of  the 
retention  of  its  own  personality  and  the  recognition  of  other 
personalities. 

4.  Since  memory  presupposes  consciousness,  the  latter 
must  be  presumed  to  be  as  perfect  as  the  former. 

5.  Will  constitutes  the  initial  motive  power  of  the  human 
mind  and  soul. 

6.  Will  has  its  biological  origin  in  desire ;  and  egoism, 
the  strongest  of  human  emotions,  is  the  desire  of  the  soul 
to  retain  its  personality  —  to  be  saved  from  annihilation. 

7.  Corollary  :  The  soul  possesses  all  the  mental  powers 
necessary  for  the  retention  of  its  personality  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  an  existence  independently  of  the  body. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  subjective  mind,  or  the  mind 
of  the  soul,  possesses  all  the  mental  attributes  which  consti¬ 
tute  what  may  be  termed  the  purely  intellectual  dynamics. 
It  remains  to  consider  another  power,  peculiarly  its  own, 
which  demonstrates  the  actual  possession  by  the  soul  of  a 
kinetic  potency  which  for  the  present  cannot  be  classed  as 
intellectual.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  its  power  to  move 
ponderable  bodies,  otherwise  known  as  the  power  of  levita¬ 
tion.  It  is  that  power  which,  in  spiritistic  circles,  produces 
raps  upon  floors,  walls,  and  furniture,  levitates  the  medium, 
tilts  tables,  and  sometimes  causes  the  most  orderly  and 
dignified  parlor  furniture  to  “  cut  fantastic  tricks  before 
high  heaven.”  Of  the  existence  of  this  force  no  one  who 
has  investigated  the  subject,  pretends  to  doubt.  It  has 
been  investigated  by  many  of  the  ablest  scientists  of  the 
world,  notably  by  Prof.  Elliot  Coues,  of  Washington,  and 
Professors  Crookes  and  Lodge,  of  London,  besides  many 
other  scientists  of  lesser  note  in  Europe  and  America. 

19 


290 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


Professor  Coues  has  given  it  a  name,  “Telekinesis,”  and 
writes  on  the  subject  learnedly  and  interestingly,  as  he 
writes  on  every  subject  which  he  handles;  and  Professoi 
Crookes  has  given  the  world  a  very  learned  disquisition  on 
the  topic ;  whilst  Professor  Lodge  has  exhausted  the  re¬ 
sources  of  human  ingenuity  in  devising  tests  demonstrative 
of  the  existence  of  the  force,  and  of  the  English  language 
in  describing  them.  Spiritists,  of  course,  have  an  easy  way 
of  accounting  for  it  by  referring  it  directly  to  spirits  of  the 
dead.  But  no  scientist  has  been  able  to  do  more  than  to 
enable  us  to  say  that  it  is  a  power  belonging  exclusively  to 
the  subjective  entity ;  that  it  performs  no  normal  function 
in  this  life ;  that  it  requires  a  physical  basis  in  order  to 
produce  phenomena  cognizable  by  the  objective  senses,  and 
thus,  like  all  other  psychic  phenomena  known  as  spiritistic, 
it  is  never  produced  except  as  a  result  of  the  most  intensely 
abnormal  physical  and  mental  conditions.  In  reference  to 
the  claims  of  the  spiritists  it  need  only  be  said  that  there  is 
no  valid  evidence  whatever  that  disembodied  spirits  eithei 
do  or  can  produce  the  phenomena  of  telekinesis. 

The  only  thing  that  can  be  said  of  the  power  with  cer¬ 
tainty  is  that  it  exists ;  that  it  is  not  a  power  of  the  objec¬ 
tive  mind ;  that  it  is  a  power  of  the  human  soul,  and  that 
it  is  valuable  in  this  life  only  as  an  evidence  that  there  is  a 
kinetic  force  resident  in  the  soul.  It  will  readily  be  seen, 
however,  that  the  bare  fact  of  its  existence  as  a  factor  in 
the  organism  of  the  soul  is  of  the  most  transcendent  in¬ 
terest  and  importance,  although  we  may  never  know  in  this 
life  all  that  it  implies  when  it  is  exercised  in  the  future  life. 
Nor  is  it  important  that  we  should  know.  But  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  we  should  know  that  the  soul  is 
possessed  of  kinetic  force,  for  it  completes  the  chain  of 
evidence  necessary  to  demonstrate  the  fact  that  it  possesses 
the  power  and  potentiality  of  a  self-existent  entity.  It  is 
simply  impossible  to  conceive  of  an  intelligent  organism 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


29I 


minus  kinetic  force ;  for  no  matter  how  ethereal  or  im¬ 
ponderable  the  soul  may  be,  measured  by  physical  stan¬ 
dards,  it  must  be  supposed  to  possess  the  power  of  moving, 
or  causing  motion,  suitable  to  its  environment.  Besides, 
if,  as  we  must  suppose,  the  soul  is  a  spark  of  the  Divine 
Intelligence,  it  must  be  invested,  in  some  degree,  with  the 
potential  energy  inhering  in  Omnipotence. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  AFFECTIONAL  EMOTIONS  OF  THE  SOUL. 


All  the  Affectional  Emotions  Retained  in  the  Future  Life.  —  Telepa¬ 
thy  the  Means  of  Communion  in  the  Future  Life.  —  Telepathy 
neither  Vestigial  nor  Rudimentary.  —  It  performs  no  Normal 
Function  in  this  Life. 

TN  the  chapters  next  preceding  this  I  have  shown,  first, 
*  that  in  the  faculty  of  intuitive  perception  of  the  laws  of 
Nature  the  soul  possesses  the  prerequisites  of  a  purely 
intellectual  existence ;  secondly,  that,  in  its  perfect  memory 
combined  with  its  egoism,  it  possesses  both  the  desire  and 
power  to  retain  its  personality  or  individuality  ;  and,  thirdly, 
that,  in  the  abnormal  phenomenon  of  telekinesis,  the  fact 
is  demonstrated  that  the  soul  possesses  that  kinetic  power 
which  necessarily  belongs  to  every  intelligent  organism. 
The  possession  of  only  these  powers  would  characterize 
a  purely  intellectual  being,  retaining  its  personality,  but 
divested  of  every  affectional  emotion  and  destitute  of  any 
means  of  intelligent  communication  with  others.  It  is,  per¬ 
haps,  superfluous  to  remark  that  such  a  being  would  corre¬ 
spond  exactly  with  the  ideas  of  the  Brahmans  and  Buddhists 
who  believe  that  the  destiny  of  man  is  absorption  by  the 
Deity,  modified  by  retention  of  personality.  It  is  notable 
that,  in  common  with  that  other  sect  who  hold  that  the 
absorption  is  complete  and  the  personality  lost,  they  take 
no  account  of  the  natural  affections  of  mankind,  and,  con¬ 
sequently,  ignore  all  possibility  of  a  social  life  in  Nirvana. 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  293 


In  point  of  fact,  they  hold  that  all  the  affectional  emotions 
belong  exclusively  to  the  incarnate  man,  and  hence  they 
begin  their  preparations  for  Nirvana  by  crushing  out  every 
human  affection  or  impulse  that  pertains  to  social  or  domes¬ 
tic  life,  retaining  nothing  of  an  emotional  character  save 
their  own  monstrous,  monumental  egotism. 

Such  an  existence  might  gratify  the  aspirations  of  those 
who  pass  the  greater  part  of  their  mortal  life  in  that  state  of 
abnormal  subjectivity  of  which  egotism  is  the  salient  charac¬ 
teristic.  But  to  the  normal  Occidental  man,  unused  to  the 
processes  of  self-hypnotization  ;  unused  to  surrendering  his 
reason,  and  plunging  into  the  realm  of  subjective  hallucina¬ 
tion  induced  by  auto-suggestion ;  who  has  been  taught  to 
regard  the  love  of  wife,  children,  and  friends  as  among  the 
purest  and  holiest  emotions  of  the  human  soul,  —  to  such  a 
man  the  promise  of  a  future  life  without  the  prospect  of  a 
reunion  with  the  loved  ones  who  have  gone  before  or  who 
are  to  follow  after,  would  offer  no  attractions  that  he  would 
not  gladly  exchange  for  annihilation.  To  the  normal  man 
or  woman  an  existence  without  love  or  the  capacity  and 
means  for  social  enjoyment  would  be  worse  than  annihila¬ 
tion.  It  is  only  by  a  determined  and  persistent  repression 
of  the  normal  emotions,  by  means  of  an  abnormal  asceticism, 
that  any  human  being  can  bring  his  mind  to  such  a  state 
of  moral  and  affectional  atrophy  as  to  contemplate  with 
equanimity  a  final  separation  from  family,  friends,  and 
kindred. 

Let  us,  then,  still  further  examine  the  known  attributes  of 
the  subjective  mind,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  whether 
there  is  any  warrant  for  the  assumption  that  in  the  future  life 
we  are  to  be  bereft  of  all  that  we  hold  dear  in  this. 

Fortunately  we  have  not  far  to  look ;  for,  standing  on  the 
very  threshold  of  the  inquiry,  is  the  broad  and  significant  fact 
that  all  the  emotions  that  impart  joy  or  sorrow  to  humanity 
find  their  origin  and  seat  in  the  subjective  mind.  It  is  true 


294 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


that  their  functions  pertain  in  part  to  this  life.  It  is  true 
that  their  primary  function  is  to  perpetuate  the  species  ;  that 
their  normal  activity  gives  life  and  light  and  love  and  joy 
and  happiness  to  incarnate  humanity ;  and  that,  perverted, 
they  are  the  prolific  source  of  sorrow,  misery,  degradation, 
and  despair.  Like  every  other  attribute  of  the  soul  when 
uncontrolled  by  objective  reason,  that  is,  when  perverted  to 
base  and  ignoble  uses,  they  are  prolific  of  evil  consequences  ; 
whilst  their  normal  exercise  is  promotive  of  the  highest  good 
to  humanity.  But,  whatever  may  be  the  result  of  their 
exercise  here,  the  fact  that  the  subjective  mind  is  the  seat  of 
the  emotions  is  demonstrative  that  they  have  a  higher  func¬ 
tion  to  perform  in  a  realm  where  perversion  is  impossible. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  love  and  affection  which  man 
bears  to  his  fellow-man  will  not  be  blotted  out  of  existence 
when  the  brain  ceases  to  perform  its  functions ;  for  it  exists 
in  that  mind  which  performs  its  functions  independently  of 
the  brain’s  existence,  in  that  mind  which  grows  stronger  as 
the  brain  grows  weaker,  in  that  mind  whose  strongest 
observable  manifestations  occur  in  the  hour  of  death.  If 
there  is  no  faculty  without  a  function,  it  follows  that  the 
affectional  emotions  have  a  legitimate  sphere  of  exercise  in 
that  home  not  made  with  hands.  In  other  words,  the 
existence  of  those  emotions  in  the  soul  constitutes  indubita¬ 
ble  evidence  that  there  will  exist,  in  the  life  to  come,  ample 
means  for  their  exercise ;  and  that  conclusion  presupposes 
a  reunion  with  the  legitimate  objects  of  our  love. 

There  is  now  but  one  thing  lacking  in  the  attributes  and 
powers  of  the  soul  to  complete  the  mental  equipment  neces¬ 
sary  for  an  enjoyable  intellectual  and  social  existence  of 
the  highest  order  conceivable  by  the  mind  of  man.  It  is 
almost  superfluous  to  say  that  the  one  other  thing  needful 
is  a  means  of  communication  between  disembodied  souls, 
or  to  remark  that  this  want  finds  an  ample  supply  in  the 
power  of  telepathy. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


2  95 


Telepathy,  as  has  again  and  again  been  demonstrated,  is 
a  power  belonging  exclusively  to  the  subjective  mind  ;  the 
objective  mind  does  not  possess  it  in  the  remotest  degree. 
This  fact  is  evidenced  by  every  salient  telepathic  phenom¬ 
enon.  It  is  the  subjective  mind  that  reads,  and  it  is  the 
subjective  mind  that  is  read.  The  objective  thoughts  of  one 
cannot  be  read  by  the  subjective  mind  of  another,  unless  the 
objective  and  subjective  thoughts  happen  to  be  synchronous. 
Hence  it  is  very  rare  that  a  telepathist  reads  what  the 
sitter  is  consciously  thinking  of.  These  facts,  however,  are 
of  such  common  knowledge  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time 
to  enlarge  upon  them. 

The  important  fact  connected  with  telepathy  is  that  it 
performs  no  normal  function  in  this  life.  This  is  obvious 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  only  under  abnormal  conditions  of 
the  body  and  mind  that  the  phenomenon  is  observable. 

Much  ink  has  been  wasted  in  discussing  the  question 
whether  telepathy  is  vestigial  or  rudimentary.  The  fact  is 
that  there  is  not  a  scintilla  of  valid  evidence  to  show  that 
it  is  either.  If  it  were  vestigial,  we  should  have  the  right  to 
expect  to  find  indubitable  evidence  of  its  existence  in  the 
lower  animals.  But  the  fact  is  that  there  is  little  evidence 
to  show  that  they  can  communicate  in  that  way  with  each 
other.  They  all  have  an  oral  or  objective  language  of  their 
own,  and  all  their  senses  are  infinitely  more  acute  than  man’s. 
This  would  hardly  be  the  case  if  telepathy  existed  in  animals 
as  a  normal  power  capable  of  affording  protection  or  con¬ 
tributing  to  their  well  being.  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the 
well-known  experiment  of  Prof.  C.  V.  Riley,1  an  eminent 
scientist  of  Washington,  who  occluded  a  foreign  insect  and 
released  it  two  miles  from  its  mate ;  and  the  two  were  found 
together  the  next  morning.  The  learned  professor  has 
suggested  telepathy  as  a  possible  explanation  of  the  fact ; 
but  he  would  hardly  regard  it  as  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
1  Since  deceased. 


296 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


existence  of  that  power  in  insects,  in  view  of  the  well-known 
sensory  powers  of  many  of  the  lower  animals,  including 
insects.  Besides,  it  is  a  feat  that  is  vastly  outdone  by  the 
carrier  pigeon,  whose  marvellous  powers  are  referable  entirely 
to  the  sense  of  sight.  There  is,  however,  much  evidence  to 
show  that  man  can  influence  animals  telepathically ;  but  no 
conclusive  evidence  has  yet  been  forthcoming  to  show  that 
animals  can  so  communicate  with  each  other.  Neither  is 
there  any  evidence  to  show  that  man  ever  possessed  the 
power  of  telepathy  in  any  greater  degree  than  he  now 
possesses  it,  or  that  he  was  ever  in  a  physical  or  mental 
condition  more  or  less  favorable  to  the  development  of  that 
power  than  he  is  now.  There  is  therefore  no  evidence  what¬ 
ever  that  the  faculty  is  vestigial. 

There  is  as  little  evidence  that  it  is  a  “  rudimentary  sixth 
sense,”  as  many  learned  men,  who  are  fond  of  rudimentary 
speculations  without  facts,  would  have  us  believe.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  more  telepathists  now  than  ever  existed  before  ; 
and  it  is  also  true  that  there  are  more  hysterical  women,  of 
both  sexes,  than  ever  existed  before.  Besides,  telepathy  has 
only  recently  been  scientifically  investigated,  and  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  power  of  the  human  mind  has  only  recently  been 
demonstrated  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  scientific  world. 
But  the  demonstration  of  a  fact  of  such  startling  import  has 
sent  thousands  into  the  field  of  experimental  psychology, 
with  the  result  that  millions  of  experiments  have  been  made, 
demonstrating  nothing  but  the  bare  fact  that  the  power 
exists,  and  that  it  cannot  be  made  useful  in  this  life.  It  has 
not  advanced  human  knowledge  one  step  in  the  direction 
of  any  useful  result  or  in  the  development  of  any  useful 
power.  It  would  be  difficult  to  show  that,  of  all  the  experi¬ 
ments  that  have  been  made  or  of  all  the  instances  where 
it  has  been  spontaneously  manifested,  there  is  one  case 
where  it  has  proved  to  be  of  any  benefit  whatever.  In  the 
very  nature  of  things  this  must  always  be  true,  for  the  simple 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


297 


reason  that  the  law  of  suggestion  must  always  render  every 
experiment  uncertain  until  the  result  has  been  verified  by 
objective  means.  No  one  who  is  aware  of  the  existence 
of  that  law  would  ever  dare  to  depend  upon  a  telepathic 
message  where  any  material  interest  was  at  stake  ;  and  until 
the  law  of  suggestion  can  be  nullified,  that  is  to  say,  until 
all  possible  subjective  hallucinations,  arising  from  possible 
suggestions,  can  be  eliminated  as  possible  factors  in  supposed 
telepathic  experiences,  there  can  be  no  possible  means  of 
rendering  telepathy  useful  in  earthly  life. 

Again,  if  telepathy  were  either  vestigial  or  rudimentary, 
it  would  be  manifested  under  normal  conditions.  It  would 
be  equivalent  to  a  contradiction  in  terms  to  suppose  that 
a  normal  faculty  must  always  be  exercised  under  abnormal 
conditions.  The  only  condition  approaching  normality 
under  which  telepathy  is  ever  manifested  is  in  dreams. 
But  until  the  element  of  suggestion  arising  from  waking 
thoughts  or  peripheral  stimuli  can  be  eliminated  from 
dreams,  it  is  obvious  that  they  cannot  be  depended  upon 
as  sources  of  information  in  the  affairs  of  this  life. 

No ;  telepathy  performs  no  normal  function  on  the 
physical  plane.  We  can  catch  only  occasional  glimpses 
of  it  here, — just  enough  to  enable  us  to  know  that  in  the 
future  life,  when  physical  organs  of  speech  no  longer  exist, 
there  is  ample  provision  for  intelligent  communion  with 
those  who  share  our  destiny. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

PRACTICAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


The  Abnormality  of  Psychic  Manifestations.  —  The  Dangers  attend¬ 
ing  Psychic  Activity.  —  The  Different  Forms  of  Psychic  Develop¬ 
ment.  —  Psychic  Powers  inversely  Proportioned  to  Health.  — 
Unsuspected  Dangers.  —  Musicians. —  Stenographers  and  Type¬ 
writers.  —  Compositors.  —  Genius  and  Insanity.  —  Opinions  of 
Scientists.  —  Dr.  MacDonald.  —  Summary.  —  Biographical  Facts. 
—  The  Great  Practical  Lesson  of  Psychic  Science.  —  Immorality, 
Vice,  Crime,  and  Insanity  the  Result  of  Psychic  Activity. 

'"THE  lessons  which  psychic  science  teaches  pertain  not 
*■  alone  to  the  future  world,  but  they  are  of  the  utmost 
practical  value  in  this  life.  Indeed,  I  speak  the  words  of 
truth  and  soberness  when  I  declare  that  there  is  no  subject 
of  human  thought  and  investigation  of  such  transcendent 
and  imminent  practical  importance  to  mankind  as  that  of 
psychic  science.  And  the  great  lesson  which  it  teaches, 
the  lesson  which  embraces  all  the  others,  is  that  psychic 
phenomena  are  never  produced  except  under  the  ?nost  in¬ 
tensely  abnormal  conditiotis  of  the  physical  a?id  the  ?nental 
organism. 

It  may  sound  paradoxical  to  say  that  man’s  most  impor¬ 
tant  study  can  be  successfully  prosecuted  only  under  and 
by  virtue  of  abnormal  conditions ;  but  it  must  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  it  has  always  been  by  means  of  the  study  of 
abnormal  phenomena  that  much  of  what  man  knows  of  his 
normal  conditions  has  been  revealed  to  him. 

If  man  were  always  physically  and  mentally  normal, 
there  would  be  comparatively  little  learned  of  his  physical 


DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE  299 


or  mental  structure,  for  there  would  be  no  incentive  to 
study.  He  would  then  be  like  a  perfect  machine,  which, 
so  long  as  normal  conditions  prevail,  may  be  successfully 
operated  by  one  who  knows  little  or  nothing  of  its  internal 
structure  ;  but  when  the  machine  breaks,  or  for  any  reason 
fails  to  perform  its  normal  functions,  the  operator  is  com¬ 
pelled  to  investigate  the  cause ;  and  he  thus  becomes 
acquainted  with  its  internal  mechanism.  It  is  because  of 
disease  that  the  physician  becomes  acquainted  with  the  laws 
of  health ;  and  it  is  for  the  same  reason  that  the  surgeon  is 
compelled  to  study  the  anatomy  of  the  human  frame.  It 
was  through  the  study  of  abnormal  conditions  of  the  body 
that  Harvey  was  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  circulation  of 
the  blood.  It  was  through  the  study  of  abnormal  conditions 
of  the  mind  that  Hammond  was  led  to  the  discovery  that 
the  brain  is  not  the  sole  organ  of  the  mind  ;  and  it  was  by 
means  of  abnormal  conditions,  congenital  or  induced,  that 
he  was  enabled  to  demonstrate  his  theorem,  and  was  thus 
enabled  to  give  to  the  scientific  world  a  physiological  basis, 
not  only  for  studying  the  problems  of  insanity,  but  upon 
which  to  postulate  an  immortal  soul.  In  the  physiological 
realm,  abnormal  conditions  are  practically  the  only  incen¬ 
tives  to  serious  study.  In  the  psychical  world  they  are  at 
once  the  stimuli  to  the  study  of  the  science  of  the  soul,  and 
the  means  by  which  it  can  be  successfully  prosecuted. 

I  do  not  undertake  to  say  that,  because  psychic  phenom¬ 
ena  are  never  produced  except  under  abnormal  conditions, 
they  should  never  be  produced.  In  view  of  the  therapeutic 
value  of  hypnotism  and  cognate  means  of  healing  the  sick, 
and  especially  in  view  of  the  precepts  and  example  of 
Jesus,  it  would  be  absurd  to  attempt  to  prohibit  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  psychic  phenomena.  But  the  use  of  it  for 
therapeutic  purposes  can  be  justified  only  on  the  same 
ground  that  the  use  of  poisonous  drugs  for  medicines  can 
be  justified.  Their  production  can  also  be  justified  for 


330  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

purposes  of  scientific  experiment ;  but  only  upon  the  same 
ground  that  we  can  justify  experimental  medicine  or  vivi¬ 
section.  It  is  absolutely  necessary,  then,  that  abnormal 
conditions  be  studied  in  order  to  enable  us  to  understand 
and  preserve  normal  conditions ;  and  this  is  as  true  of  the 
soul  as  it  is  of  the  body.  But  as  it  is  unnecessary  and 
improper  for  the  physician  to  induce  and  perpetuate  disease 
in  a  human  body  in  order  to  study  the  laws  of  health,  it  is 
also  in  the  highest  degree  improper,  as  well  as  unnecessary, 
to  select  a  victim  and  continually  induce  an  abnormal  or 
diseased  condition  of  his  mind  in  order  to  study  psychology. 
There  is  an  abundance  of  disease  both  of  body  and  of 
mind,  existing  all  around  us,  from  which  all  the  necessary 
data  can  be  obtained,  without  the  necessity  of  immolating 
a  human  body  or  a  human  soul  upon  the  altar  of  science. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  probable  that,  for  many  years  to  come, 
experiments  will  be  made  with  a  view  to  new  discoveries ; 
and  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that  hypnotism 
will,  in  some  of  its  myriad  forms,  and  when  its  laws  are 
better  understood,  be  largely  employed  not  only  for 
therapeutic  purposes,  but  for  moulding  human  character, 
especially  in  the  young. 

In  the  mean  time  the  first  great  lesson  to  learn  is  that 
it  is  an  abnormal  condition  at  the  best,  and  should  never  be 
tampered  with  by  the  ignorant;  nor  should  it  ever  be 
employed  except  as  a  remedial  agent,  physical  or  moral, 
and  then  only  by  those  who  are  familiar  with  its  laws. 

But  the  great  lesson  which  psychic  science  teaches,  and 
in  which  every  human  being  is  interested,  is  that  all  psychic 
activity  is  not  only  abnormal,  but  it  is  in  the  highest 
degree  injurious  to  the  body  as  well  as  to  the  mind. 

I  have  again  and  again  sought  to  impress  upon  my 
readers  the  pregnant  fact  that,  whenever  the  subjective  mind 
of  man  usurps  control  over  the  dual  mental  organism,  Reason 
abdicates  her  throne  ;  and,  just  in  proportion  to  the  com- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


301 


pleteness  and  persistency  of  that  control,  the  subject  is 
insane.  Not  only  is  this  true,  but  it  is  a  fact,  which  the 
experience  of  every-day  life  will  demonstrate  to  the  mind 
of  the  most  superficial  observer,  that  many  of  the  nervous 
diseases  to  which  mankind  is  subject,  and  all  immorality, 
vice,  crime,  and  insanity  are  the  direct  results  of  abnormal 
psychic  activity  and  cofitrol  over  the  dual  mental  or¬ 
ganization. 

Abnormal  psychic  activity  in  this  life  is  the  most  insidious 
and  formidable  foe  which  man  is  called  upon  to  encounter. 
It  lurks  everywhere  and  in  every  guise,  and  it  threatens  the 
stability  of  human  society ;  for  it  strikes  at  the  foundation 
of  the  most  sacred  of  all  human  relations.  It  is  the  “  drop 
of  poison  in  man’s  purest  cup.”  To  substantiate  this 
indictment,  it  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention  to  a  few  of 
the  leading  classes  of  psychic  phenomena,  and  note  their 
effect,  physical  and  moral,  upon  those  who  are  the  instru¬ 
ments  of  their  production.  It  must  be  premised,  however, 
that  whilst  it  is  true  that  psychic  activity  is  destructive  to 
the  health  of  the  body  and  utterly  demoralizing  to  the 
nervous  system,  its  untoward  moral  effects  are  largely  due  to 
utter  ignorance,  on  the  part  of  the  psychic,  of  the  source  of 
the  phenomena.  Thus,  spiritistic  phenomena  are  always 
produced  under  the  impression  on  the  part  of  the  psychic 
that  they  emanate  from  an  extraneous  source,  —  from  a 
superior  intelligence  which  the  psychic  can  in  no  wise  con¬ 
trol  ;  and  the  result  is  utterly  demoralizing  to  the  mind  as 
well  as  to  the  body.1 

No  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  class  of  psychics  known 
as  “  mediums  ”  will  gainsay  the  statement  that,  as  a  class, 
they  are  to  the  last  degree  neurotic.  If  there  are  exceptions 
to  the  rule,  they  are  in  cases  where  the  psychic  powers  are 
of  very  recent  development.  It  is  probably  true  that 

1  For  a  full  discussion  of  this  important  point,  see  “  The  Law  of 
Psychic  Phenomena,”  ch.  xxii. 


302  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

perfectly  healthy  persons  may  develop  psychic  powers, 
although  competent  physicians  are  at  variance  on  that 
point.  The  Charcot  school  of  hypnotists  hold  that  the 
psychic  condition  is  itself  a  disease ;  whilst  the  Nancy 
school  have  seemingly  demonstrated  that  perfectly  healthy 
persons  may  be  thrown  into  that  condition.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  the  fact  remains  that  the  habitual  indulgence  in 
psychic  practices,  of  any  kind,  grade,  or  character,  will 
invariably  result  in  some  form  of  nervous  derangement  and 
disease ;  and  if  carried  to  excess,  or  continued  long,  will 
result  in  insanity  or  imbecility.  Dr.  Hammond,  in  his  able 
work  entitled  “Spiritualism  and  Nervous  Derangement,”1 
has  forever  settled  the  relations  between  psychic  conditions 
and  nervous  diseases.  They  are  always  concomitant ;  and 
psychic  activity  may  be  either  the  cause  or  the  result  of 
nervous  disease.  But  they  invariably  accompany  each 
other.  This  is  demonstrated  by  the  facts,  first,  that  no  one 
can  become  a  good  psychic  until  a  nervous  derangement 
has  been  induced ;  second,  the  best  psychics  are  those 
whose  nervous  systems  are  completely  shattered  ;  and,  third, 
the  degree  of  psychic  power  attainable  by  any  one  is  in 
exact  proportion  to  the  intensity  of  his  nervous  derange¬ 
ment.  The  Seeress  of  Prevorst  affords  a  striking  example 
illustrating  these  propositions.2  Bedridden  for  many  years 
with  a  complication  of  the  most  terrible  nervous  disorders, 
she  exhibited  the  most  wonderful  variety  of  psychic  powers 
ever  recorded.  Mollie  Fancher,  the  Brooklyn  Enigma,3 
affords  another  striking  illustration  of  the  concomitance  of 
nervous  disease  and  psychic  power.  Owing  to  an  accident 
which  shattered  her  nervous  system,  this  lady  was  thrown 
into  a  trance  condition  which  lasted  nine  years,  during 
which  a  series  of  the  most  wonderful  psychic  feats  were 

1  Putnam’s,  N.  Y.,  1876. 

2  See  “  Seeress  of  Prevorst,”  London,  1845. 

8  See  Judge  Dailey’s  volume,  Brooklyn,  1894 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


303 


performed.  Her  powers  still  continue  to  be  manifested ; 
but  it  is  noted  in  the  latter  part  of  Judge  Dailey’s  book  that 
as  she  improves  in  health  she  is  gradually  losing  her  psychic 
power. 

But  it  is  useless  to  multiply  citations  of  particular 
instances.  It  is  a  fact  which  can  be  verified  by  observation 
in  any  case  where  psychic  phenomena  are  produced,  that  it 
requires  an  intensely  abnormal  condition  of  both  body  and 
mind  to  enable  any  one  to  achieve  success  in  the  psychic 
world ;  and  this  is  true,  without  reference  to  the  character 
of  the  manifestations,  from  the  simplest  telepathic  experi¬ 
ment  in  an  apparently  normal  condition  down  to  the  deepest 
trance  that  was  ever  induced  in  the  passive  victim  of 
experimental  hypnotism. 

It  is  not,  however,  in  the  purely  experimental  part  of 
psychic  phenomena  that  the  greatest  and  most  insidious 
danger  lurks.  Like  any  other  dangerous  thing,  it  is  all  the 
more  so  when  its  presence  is  unsuspected.  Psychic  dangers 
are  everywhere  present,  and  exert  their  baleful  influence  in 
many  places  where  the  superficial  observer  would  least 
expect  to  find  them.  Certain  trades  and  occupations  are 
beset  with  the  danger  in  its  most  insidious  form.  For 
instance  :  — 

Musicians  are  constantly  in  imminent  danger  of  the  evil 
consequences  of  an  undue  development  of  the  subjective 
faculties ;  and  their  greatest  peril  arises  from  the  fact  that 
the  foe  is  unsuspected.  But  a  moment’s  consideration  will 
render  it  plain  that  there  are  evils  to  guard  against  even  in 
so  noble  an  art  as  that  of  music.  Music,  as  I  have  before 
pointed  out,  is  the  language  of  the  emotions,  and  has  its 
origin  in  the  subjective  mind.  The  mechanical  execution 
of  good  music  by  a  trained  musician  is  automatic,  and 
therefore  subjective.  The  common  experience  of  every 
musician  worthy  of  the  name  will  bear  me  out  in  this  asser¬ 
tion  ;  and  no  one  will  gainsay  the  statement  that  good 


304  A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 

musicians  as  a  class  are  exceedingly  emotional,  and  in  the 
highest  degree  nervous,  excitable,  passionate,  jealous.  The 
simple  reason  is  that  they  have  cultivated  the  subjective 
faculties  without  knowing  the  laws  pertaining  to  subjective 
mental  activity,  and,  consequently,  without  realizing  the 
dangers,  physical,  mental,  and  moral,  which  attend  the 
undue  development  of  the  subjective  faculties,  uncontrolled 
by  objective  reason.  I  do  not  say  that  musicians,  as  a 
class,  are  more  immoral  than  other  classes  of  people, 
although  that  charge  has  been  freely  made  by  others  who 
are,  perhaps,  actuated  by  unworthy  motives ;  but  I  do  say 
that  they  necessarily  and  habitually  cultivate  those  faculties 
which,  uncontrolled  by  reason,  are  liable  to  lead  men  astray. 
Fortunately,  however,  musicians  are,  as  a  rule,  far  above  the 
average  in  point  of  mental  cultivation  and  social  standing, 
and  hence  are  better  qualified  to  appreciate  the  dangers 
which  lurk  in  their  pathway.  They  may,  therefore,  be  able 
to  guard  against  the  moral  evils  attending  the  undue  domi¬ 
nance  of  the  subjective  faculties  and  emotions,  but  can  never 
wholly  overcome  the  abnormal  physical  conditions  incident 
to  them. 

Stenographers  and  Typewriters  are  also  beset  with  dan¬ 
gers  arising  from  the  same  source.  I  mean,  of  course, 
good  stenographers  and  good  typewriters ;  for  good  work 
in  those  lines  is  always  the  result  of  such  training  as  is  re¬ 
quired  to  enable  the  operator  to  do  the  work  automatically. 
When  that  amount  of  skill  is  acquired,  the  danger  begins, 
for  the  obvious  reason  that  automatism  is  purely  subjective. 
No  one  acquainted  with  the  facts  will  gainsay  the  observa¬ 
tion  that  stenographers  and  typewriters,  as  a  class,  are  the 
victims  of  nervous  disorders,  oftentimes  approaching  the 
verge  of  insanity.  Numbers  of  them  employed  in  the  Gov¬ 
ernment  departments  at  Washington  are  compelled  to 
abandon  their  positions,  owing  to  the  nervous  strain  to 
which  they  are  subjected. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


305 


Compositors  are  also  beset  by  the  same  dangers.  Again, 
I  mean  good  compositors,  that  is,  those  whose  training  in 
type-setting  is  such  as  to  enable  them  to  work  automatically ; 
and  no  really  good  compositor,  that  is,  one  who  can  do  a 
big  day’s  work  with  reasonable  accuracy,  ever  does  or  ever 
can  set  type  in  any  other  way.  Every  one  who  is  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  besetting  weaknesses  of  the  craft  will 
indorse  what  I  say,  and  will  agree  with  me  that  their 
troubles  and  their  habits  are  the  result  of  abnormal  subjec¬ 
tive  mental  activity. 

But  it  is  useless  to  multiply  instances.  The  whole  prin¬ 
ciple  may  be  summed  up  in  the  general  statement  that  any 
employment  which  unduly  develops  the  subjective  powers 
in  any  direction  whatever,  is  attended  by  abnormal  physical 
and  mental  conditions.  If  any  class  of  people  deserve  an 
ample  compensation,  and  are  entitled  to  shorter  hours  and 
increased  pay,  it  is  that  class  whose  occupation  results  in 
the  development  of  the  subjective  faculties.  Moreover,  if 
any  deserve  a  rich  reward  in  the  world  to  come,  it  is  those 
who  resist  the  temptations  which  beset  the  pathway  of 
those  whose  subjective  faculties  are  unduly  developed. 

Another  class  of  people  whose  subjective  faculties  are  un¬ 
duly  developed  deserves  especial  mention.  I  refer  to  men 
of  genius.  I  have  elsewhere 1  defined  genius  as  being  the 
result  of  the  synchronous  action  of  the  two  minds ;  a  con¬ 
dition  which  confers  upon  the  individual  the  benefit  of  the 
perfect  memory  and  the  other  powers  of  the  subjective 
mind,  but  does  not  deprive  him  of  his  objective  powers  of 
reason.  A  perfect  synchronism  of  development  and  activity 
would  necessarily  produce  a  wonderful  intelligence,  an  in¬ 
tellectual  colossus,  in  whatever  field  of  endeavor  he  might 
engage.  History  furnishes  but  one  example  of  perfect  syn¬ 
chronism  of  development,  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious, 
—  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Shakespeare  comes  as  near  the 

1  See  “  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena.” 

20 


306 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


ideal  of  intellectual  symmetry  as  any  man  of  whom  we 
have  any  means  of  judging.  But  we  have  numerous  exam¬ 
ples  of  genius  where  the  synchronism  was  only  partial. 
Great  results  have  been  achieved  by  them,  and  the  world 
will  never  cease  to  cherish  the  memory  and  worship  at  the 
shrine  of  those  intellectual  giants  whose  works  mark  the 
epochs  of  history  and  of  science  and  of  the  arts.  Unfor¬ 
tunately,  however,  the  personal  history  of  men  of  genius 
reveals  the  fact  that  their  intellectual  development  was 
abnormal  to  the  last  degree.  So  universally  true  is  this  that 
alienists  find  it  difficult  to  distinguish  the  dividing  line  be¬ 
tween  genius  and  insanity,  and  are  wont  to  couple  the  two 
in  their  treatises.  Thus,  Dr.  Arthur  MacDonald,  Specialist 
in  the  Bureau  of  Education  at  Washington,  in  his  able  and 
intensely  interesting  work  entitled  “  Abnormal  Man,”  1 
devotes  a  chapter  to  “  Insanity  and  Genius,”  in  which  he 
summarizes  a  large  number  of  facts  relating  to  the  personal 
and  pathological  characteristics  of  men  of  genius  in  all  the 
ages  of  which  history  furnishes  the  data.  It  would  be  im¬ 
possible  to  present  the  leading  facts  in  fewer  words,  or  in 
more  concise  and  intelligent  form,  than  Dr.  MacDonald 
has  summarized  them.  In  view  of  the  transcendent  impor¬ 
tance  of  the  facts  as  bearing  upon  the  subject  under  con¬ 
sideration,  I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  making  the  following 
extracts  from  his  report :  — 

“  As  an  introduction  to  the  biographical  study  of  genius  it 
will  be  interesting  to  give  the  opinions  of  geniuses  themselves. 

“  Aristotle  says  that  under  the  influence  of  a  congestion  of 
the  head  there  are  persons  who  become  poets,  prophets,  and 
sibyls.  Plato  affirms  that  delirium  is  not  an  evil  but  a  great 
benefaction  when  it  emanates  from  the  divinity. 

“  Democritus  makes  insanity  an  essential  condition  of  poetry. 
Diderot  says  :  ‘Ah,  how  close  the  insane  and  the  genius  touch ; 
they  are  imprisoned  and  enchained,  or  statues  are  raised  to 
them.’  Voltaire  says:  ‘Heaven  in  forming  us  mixed  our  life 
with  reason  and  insanity,  the  elements  of  our  imperfect  being; 

1  Circular  of  Information,  No.  4,  1893,  Bureau  of  Education. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


307 


they  compose  every  man,  they  form  his  essence.’  Pascal  says  : 
‘Extreme  mind  is  close  to  extreme  insanity.’  Mirabeau  affirms 
that  common-sense  is  the  absence  of  too  vivid  passion ;  it 
marches  by  beaten  paths,  but  genius  never.  Only  men  with 
great  passions  can  be  great.  Cato  said,  before  committing  sui¬ 
cide :  ‘Since  when  have  I  shown  signs  of  insanity?’  Tasso 
said  :  ‘  I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  my  insanity  is  caused  by 
drunkenness  and  by  love  ;  for  I  know  well  that  I  drink  too 
much.’  Cicero  speaks  of  the  furor  poeticus  j  Horace  of  the 
amabilis  insania ;  Lamartine  of  the  mental  disease  called 
genius.  Newton,  in  a  letter  to  Locke,  says  that  he  passed  some 
months  without  having  a  ‘consistency  of  mind.’  Chateaubriand 
says  that  his  chief  fault  is  weariness,  disgust  of  everything,  and 
perpetual  doubt.  Dryden  says  :  ‘  Great  wit  to  madness  sure  is 
near  allied.’  Lord  Beaconsfield  says :  ‘  I  have  sometimes  half 
believed,  although  the  suspicion  is  mortifying,  that  there  is  only 
a  step  between  his  state  who  deeply  indulges  in  imaginative 
meditation  and  insanity.  I  was  not  always  sure  of  my  identity 
or  even  existence,  for  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  shout  aloud 
to  be  sure  that  I  lived.’  Schopenhauer  confessed  that  when  he 
composed  his  great  work  he  carried  himself  strangely,  and  was 
taken  for  insane.  He  said  that  men  of  genius  are  often  like 
the  insane,  given  to  continual  agitation.  Tolstoi  acknowledges 
that  philosophical  scepticism  had  led  him  to  a  condition  border¬ 
ing  on  insanity.  George  Sand  says  of  herself  that  at  about 
seventeen  she  became  deeply  melancholic ;  that  later  she  was 
tempted  to  suicide;  that  this  temptation  was  so  vivid,  sudden, 
and  bizarre  that  she  considered  it  a  species  of  insanity.  Heine 
said  that  his  disease  may  have  given  a  morbid  character  to  his 
later  compositions. 

“  However  paradoxical  such  sayings  may  seem,  a  serious  in¬ 
vestigation  will  show  striking  resemblances  between  the  highest 
mental  activity  and  diseased  mind.  As  a  proof  of  this  we  will 
give  a  number  of  facts,  to  which  many  more  might  be  added. 

“  The  difficulty  of  obtaining  facts  of  an  abnormal  or  patho¬ 
logical  nature,  and  of  other  unfavorable  data,  is  obvious.  Au¬ 
thors  have  not  only  concealed  such  data,  but  have  not  deemed 
them  important  enough  to  record.  It  is  due  to  the  medical 
men,  whose  life  brings  them  closest  to  abnormal  reality,  that 
such  facts  have  been  gathered.  If  it  be  said  that  the  abnormal 
or  exceptional  must  be  taken  with  some  caution,  because  it  is 
natural  for  the  mind  to  exaggerate  striking  characteristics,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  such  facts,  when  unfavorable  to  repu- 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


30S 

iation,  are  concealed.  In  the  study  of  any  exceptional  or 
abnormal  individual,  as  the  insane  or  the  genius,  one  finds 
much  more  concealed  than  is  known. 

“  Socrates  had  hallucinations  from  his  familiar  genius  or 
daemon.  Pausanias,  the  Lacedemonian,  after  killing  a  young 
slave,  was  tormented  until  his  death  by  a  spirit,  which  pursued 
him  in  all  places,  and  which  resembled  his  victim.  Lucretius 
was  attacked  with  intermittent  mania.  Bayle  says  this  mania 
left  him  lucid  intervals,  during  which  he  composed  six  books, 
De  rerum  natura.  He  was  forty-four  years  of  age  when  he 
put  an  end  to  his  life.  Charles  V.  had  epileptic  attacks  during 
his  youth.  He  stammered.  He  retreated  to  a  monastery,  where 
he  had  the  singular  phantasy  of  celebrating  his  own  funeral 
rites  in  his  own  presence.  His  mother  (Jane  of  Castile)  was 
insane  and  deformed.  His  grandfather  (Ferdinand  of  Ara¬ 
gon)  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  in  a  state  of  profound  melan¬ 
cholia.  Peter  the  Great,  during  infancy,  was  subject  to  nervous 
attacks  which  degenerated  into  epilepsy.  One  of  his  sons  had 
hallucinations ;  another,  convulsions.  Caesar  was  epileptic,  of 
feeble  constitution,  with  pallid  skin,  and  subject  to  headaches. 
Linnd,  a  precocious  genius,  had  a  cranium  hydrocephalic  in 
form.  He  suffered  from  a  stroke  of  paralysis.  At  the  end  of 
one  attack  he  had  forgotten  his  name.  He  died  in  a  state  of 
senile  dementia.  Raphael  experienced  temptations  to  suicide. 
He  himself  says  :  1 1  tied  the  fisherman’s  cords  which  I  found  in 
the  boat  eight  times  around  her  body  and  mine,  tightly  as  in  a 
winding-sheet.  I  raised  her  in  my  arms,  which  I  had  kept  free 
in  order  to  precipitate  her  with  me  into  the  waves.  ...  At 
the  moment  I  was  to  leap,  to  be  swallowed  forever  with  her,  I 
felt  her  pallid  head  turn  upon  my  shoulder  like  a  dead  weight, 
and  the  body  sink  down  upon  my  knees.’ 

“  Pascal,  from  birth  till  death,  suffered  from  nervous  troubles. 
When  he  was  only  a  year  old,  he  fell  into  a  languor,  during 
which  he  could  not  see  water  without  manifesting  great  out¬ 
bursts  of  passion ;  and,  still  more  peculiar,  he  could  not  bear  to 
see  his  father  and  mother  near  each  other.  In  1627  he  had 
paralysis  from  his  waist  down,  so  that  he  could  not  walk  with¬ 
out  crutches.  This  condition  continued  three  months.  During 
his  last  hours  he  was  taken  with  terrible  convulsions,  in  which 
he  died.  The  autopsy  showed  peculiarities.  His  cranium  ap¬ 
pears  to  have  no  suture,  unless,  perhaps,  the  lambdoid  or 
sagittal.  A  large  quantity  of  the  brain  substance  was  very 
much  condensed.  Opposite  the  ventricles  there  were  two  im- 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


309 


pressions  as  of  a  finger  in  wax.  These  cavities  were  full  of 
clotted  and  decayed  blood,  and  there  was,  it  is  said,  a  gangre¬ 
nous  condition  of  the  dura  mater.  Walter  Scott,  during  his 
infancy,  had  precarious  health,  and  before  the  age  of  two,  was 
paralyzed  in  his  right  limb.  He  had  a  stroke  of  apoplexy. 
He  had  this  vision  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Byron :  Coming 
into  the  dining-room,  he  saw  before  him  the  image  of  his  dead 
friend.  On  advancing  toward  it,  he  recognized  that  the  vision 
was  due  to  drapery  extended  over  the  screen. 

“  Some  men  of  genius  who  have  observed  themselves  describe 
their  inspiration  as  a  gentle  fever,  during  which  their  thoughts 
become  rapid  and  involuntary.  Dante  says  :  — ■ 

‘  ...  1’  mi  son  un  che,  quando 
Amore  spira,  noto  ed  in  quel  modo 
Che  detta  dentro  vo  significando.’ 

(I  am  so  made  that  when  love  inspires  me,  I  attend;  and  according 
as  it  speaks  in  me,  I  speak.) 

“Voltaire,  like  Cicero,  Demosthenes,  Newton,  and  Walter 
Scott,  was  born  under  the  saddest  and  most  alarming  conditions 
of  health.  His  feebleness  was  such  that  he  could  not  be  taken 
to  church  to  be  christened.  During  his  first  years  he  manifested 
an  extraordinary  mind.  In  his  old  age  he  was  like  a  bent 
shadow.  He  had  an  attack  of  apoplexy  at  the  age  of  83.  His 
autopsy  showed  a  slight  thickness  of  the  bony  walls  of  the 
cranium.  In  spite  of  his  advanced  age,  there  was  an  enormous 
development  of  the  encephalon. 

“Michael  Angelo,  while  painting  ‘The  Last  Judgment,’  fell 
from  his  scaffold  and  received  a  painful  injury  in  the  leg.  He 
shut  himself  up  and  would  not  see  any  one.  Bacio  Rontini,  a 
celebrated  physician,  came  by  accident  to  see  him.  He  found 
all  the  doors  closed.  No  one  responding,  he  went  into  the  cel¬ 
lar  and  came  upstairs.  He  found  Michael  Angelo  in  his  room, 
resolved  to  die.  His  friend  the  physician  would  not  leave  him. 
He  brought  him  out  of  the  peculiar  frame  of  mind  into  which 
he  had  fallen.  The  elder  brother  of  Richelieu  the  Cardinal 
was  a  singular  man ;  he  committed  suicide  because  of  a  re¬ 
buke  from  his  parents.  The  sister  of  Richelieu  was  insane. 
Richelieu  himself  had  attacks  of  insanity  ;  he  would  figure  him¬ 
self  as  a  horse,  but  afterwards  would  have  no  recollection  of  it. 
Descartes,  after  a  long  retirement,  was  followed  by  an  invisible 
person,  who  urged  him  to  pursue  his  investigations  after  the 
truth.  Goethe  was  sure  of  having  perceived  the  image  of  him 


3io 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


self  coming  to  meet  him.  Goethe’s  mother  died  of  an  apoplectic 
attack.  Cromwell,  when  at  school,  had  a  hallucination  in  his 
room ;  suddenly  the  curtains  opened  and  a  woman  of  gigantic 
stature  appeared  to  him,  announcing  his  future  greatness.  In 
the  days  of  his  power  he  liked  to  recount  this  vision.  Crom¬ 
well  had  violent  attacks  of  melancholic  humor;  he  spoke  of 
his  hypochondria.  His  entire  moral  life  was  moulded  by  a 
sickly  and  neuropathical  constitution,  which  he  had  at  birth. 
Rousseau  was  a  type  of  the  melancholic  temperament,  assuming 
sometimes  the  symptoms  of  a  veritable  pathetic  insanity.  He 
sought  to  realize  his  phantoms  in  the  least  susceptible  circum¬ 
stances  ;  he  saw  everywhere  enemies  and  conspirators  (frequent 
in  the  first  stage  of  insanity).  Once  coming  to  his  sailing-ves¬ 
sel  in  England,  he  interpreted  the  unfavorable  winds  as  a  con¬ 
spiracy  against  him ;  then  mounted  an  elevation  and  began  to 
harangue  the  people,  although  they  did  not  understand  a  word 
he  said.  In  addition  to  his  fixed  ideas  and  deliriant  convictions, 
Rousseau  suffered  from  attacks  of  acute  delirium,  a  sort  of 
maniacal  excitation.  He  died  from  an  apoplectic  attack. 
Jeanne  d’Arc  was  a  genius  by  her  intrepid  will ;  she  had  faith 
in  her  visions ;  her  faith  rested  upon  the  immovable  foundation 
of  numerous  hallucinations  having  the  force  of  moral  and  intel¬ 
lectual  impulsion,  making  her  superior  to  those  around  her. 
Science  can  pronounce  as  to  her  inspirations,  but  its  judg¬ 
ment  does  not  diminish  in  the  least  the  merit  of  her  heroism. 
Jeanne  was  of  the  peasant  class  and  uneducated.  According 
to  her  statement,  she  first  heard  supernatural  voices  when  she 
was  13  years  old.  Mohammed  was  epileptic.  He  persistently 
claimed  to  be  a  messenger  from  God,  receiving  his  first  revela¬ 
tion  at  the  age  of  42.  He  lost  his  father  in  infancy  and  his 
mother  in  childhood ;  was  a  travelling  merchant,  and  married  a 
wealthy  widow  fifteen  years  older  than  himself.  His  revela¬ 
tions  began  with  visions  in  sleep.  He  used  to  live  alone  in  a 
cave.  He  had  interviews  with  the  angel  Gabriel.  Henry 
Heine  died  of  a  chronic  disease  of  the  spinal  column.  Lotze 
was  often  melancholic.  Molieire  suffered  from  convulsions ; 
delay  or  derangement  could  throw  him  into  a  convulsion. 

“  Mozart’s  musical  talent  was  revealed  at  three  years  of  age; 
between  four  and  six  he  composed  pieces  with  expertness. 
Mozart  died  at  36  of  cerebral  hydropsy.  He  had  a  presentiment 
of  his  approaching  end.  He  was  subject  to  fainting  fits  before 
and  during  the  composition  of  his  famous  1  Requiem.’  Mozart 
always  thought  that  the  unknown  person  which  presented  itself 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  3  1 1 

to  him  was  not  an  ordinary  being,  but  surely  had  relations  with 
another  world,  and  that  he  was  sent  to  him  to  announce  his 
end.  Cuvier  died  of  an  affection  of  the  nervous  centres;  the 
autopsy  showed  a  voluminous  brain.  He  lost  all  his  children 
by  a  fever  called  ‘  cerebral.’  Condillac  had  frequent  attacks  of 
somnambulism ;  he  sometimes  found  his  work  finished  in  the 
morning.  Bossuet  suffered  from  a  disease  from  which  he  once 
lost  speech,  knowledge,  and  even  the  faculty  of  understanding. 
Dumas  says  :  ‘  Victor  Hugo  was  dominated  by  the  fixed  idea  to 
become  a  great  poet  and  the  greatest  man  of  all  countries  and 
times.  For  a  certain  time  the  glory  of  Napoleon  haunted  him.’ 
Chopin  ordered  by  will  that  he  be  buried  in  a  gala  costume, 
white  cravat,  small  shoes,  and  short  trousers.  He  abandoned 
his  wife,  whom  he  loved,  because  she  offered  another  person  a 
seat  before  she  offered  it  to  him.  Giordano  Bruno  considered 
himself  enlightened  by  a  superior  light  sent  from  God,  who 
knows  the  essence  of  things.  Comte  considered  himself  the 
‘  Great  Priest’  of  humanity.  Madame  de  Stael  died  in  a  state 
of  delirium,  which  had  lasted  several  days  ;  according  to  some 
authors,  several  months.  The  autopsy  showed  a  large  quantity 
of  cerebral  matter,  and  very  thin  cranium.  Moreau  of  Tours 
said  she  had  a  nervous  habit  of  rolling  continually  between  her 
fingers  small  strips  of  paper,  an  ample  provision  of  which  was 
kept  on  her  mantelpiece.  She  used  opium  immoderately.  She 
had  a  singular  idea  during  her  whole  life ;  she  was  afraid  of 
being  cold  in  the  tomb;  she  desired  that  she  be  enveloped  in 
fur  before  burial. 

“  English  men  of  letters  who  have  become  insane,  or  have 
had  hallucinations  and  peculiarities  symptomatic  of  insanity, 
are  Swift,  Johnson,  Cowper,  Southey,  Shelley,  Byron,  Gold¬ 
smith,  Lamb,  and  Poe.  Swift  was  also  cruel  in  conduct,  but  he 
was  hardly  responsible,  as  his  insanity  was  congenital.  His 
paternal  uncle  lost  speech  and  memory,  and  died  insane.  Swift 
was  somewhat  erratic  and  wild  as  a  university  student.  He 
suffered  at  times  from  giddiness,  impaired  eyesight,  deafness, 
muscular  twitchings,  and  paralysis  of  the  muscles  on  the  right 
side  of  the  mouth.  He  had  a  bad  temper,  was  called  ‘  mad 
person  ;  ’  actually  feared  insanity,  saying  once,  on  seeing  a  tree 
that  had  been  struck  by  lightning,  ‘  I  shall  be  like  that  tree :  I 
shall  die  at  the  top.’  Later  in  life  he  became  a  violent  maniac. 
The  post-mortem  examination  showed  a  cerebral  serous  effusion 
and  softening  of  the  cortex.  There  were  a  number  of  cranial 
anomalies.  Shelley,  when  young,  was  strange  and  fond  of 


312 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


musing  alone,  and  was  called  ‘Mad  Shelley;  ’  he  suffered  from 
somnambulism  and  bad  dreams,  and  was  excitable  and  impet¬ 
uous;  these  symptoms  increased  with  age;  at  twenty  he 
constantly  took  laudanum  for  his  nervous  condition  ;  he  had  hal¬ 
lucinations  ;  he  saw  a  child  rise  from  the  sea  and  clasp  his 
hands,  a  vision  which  it  was  difficult  to  reason  away.  Much 
eccentricity  existed  in  the  immediate  antecedents  of  Shelley. 
Charles  Lamb  was  confined  in  an  insane  asylum.  Johnson 
was  hypochondriacal  and  apprehended  insanity,  fancying  him¬ 
self  seized  with  it ;  he  had  convulsions,  cramps,  and  a  paralytic 
seizure  depriving  him  of  speech ;  he  had  hallucinations  of  hear¬ 
ing.  Carlyle  considered  Southey  the  most  excitable  man  of 
his  acquaintance.  Southey’s  mind  failed,  and  he  became  an 
imbecile  and  died ;  a  year  before  his  death  he  was  in  a  dreamy 
state,  little  conscious  of  his  surroundings.  Southey  wrote 
verses  before  he  was  eight  years  of  age.  His  maternal  uncle 
was  an  idiot,  and  died  of  apoplexy.  The  mother  of  Southey 
had  paralysis.  Cowper  was  attacked  with  melancholia  at 
twenty,  which  continued  a  year ;  at  another  time  it  returned 
with  greater  force.  He  himself  tells  of  his  attempts  at  suicide  ; 
he  bought  laudanum,  keeping  it  in  his  pocket,  when  later  a 
feeling  pressed  him  to  carry  it  into  execution :  but  soon  another 
idea  came  to  him,  to  go  to  France  and  enter  a  monastery; 
then  the  suicidal  impulse  came  again,  to  throw  himself  into  the 
river,  —  an  inhibitory  feeling  from  taking  the  laudanum, — but 
he  would  have  succeeded  in  hanging  himself  had  not  the  thong 
to  which  the  rope  was  fastened  broken.  After  suicidal  ideas 
left  him,  he  relapsed  into  religious  melancholia,  thinking  he 
had  committed  the  unpardonable  sin.  He  was  confined  in  an 
asylum  eighteen  months.  Keats  was  an  extremely  emotional 
child,  passing  from  laughter  to  tears:  he  was  extremely  passion¬ 
ate,  using  laudanum  to  calm  himself ;  sometimes  he  fell  into 
despondency.  He  prophesied  truly  that  he  would  never  have 
any  rest  until  he  reached  the  grave.  The  attacks  of  critics 
agitated  him  almost  to  insanity.  His  nervousness  was  very 
susceptible,  so  that  even  ‘  the  glitter  of  the  sun  ’  or  ‘  the  sight  of 
a  flower  ’  made  his  nature  tremble.  Coleridge  was  a  precocious 
child,  self-absorbed,  weakly,  and  morbid  in  imagination  ;  this 
morbidity  was  the  cause  of  his  running  away  from  home  when 
a  child  and  from  college  when  a  student ;  he  enlisted  as  a  sol¬ 
dier,  and  again  went  to  Malta  for  no  reason,  permitting  his 
family  to  depend  upon  charity.  When  thirty  years  of  age,  his 
physical  suffering  led  him  to  use  opium.  Subsequently  he  had 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


313 


a  lateral  curvature  of  the  spine  (De  Quincey).  There  were 
many  morbid  symptoms  in  the  family.  Burns  says  :  ‘  My  con¬ 
stitution  and  frame  were  ab  origine  blasted  with  a  deep,  incur¬ 
able  taint  of  melancholia,  which  poisons  my  existence.’  Dickens 
died  from  effusion  of  blood  upon  the  brain ;  he  was  a  sickly 
child,  suffering  from  violent  spasms ;  when  a  young  man,  he 
had  a  slight  nervousness  which  increased  with  age,  and  finally 
was  attacked  with  incipient  paralysis.  George  Eliot  suffered 
from  melancholic  moods,  and  from  her  thirtieth  year  had 
severe  attacks  of  headache.  As  a  child  she  was  poor  in  health, 
and  extremely  sensitive  to  terror  in  the  night.  She  remained  a 
‘  quivering  fear  ’  throughout  her  whole  life.  De  Quincey,  the 
opium-eater,  took  opium  as  a  relief  from  neuralgia  and  general 
nervous  irritation.  He  was  in  bad  health  for  a  long  time,  dying 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four.  Alfred  de  Musset  had  attacks  of 
syncope;  he  died  at  forty-seven.  George  Sand  described  him 
in  the  Forest  of  Fontainebleau  in  his  neurotic  terror,  in  his  joy 
and  despair,  as  manifesting  a  nervous  condition  approaching 
delirium.  He  had  a  morbid  cerebral  sensibility,  showing  itself 
in  hallucinations;  he  had  a  suicidal  inclination.  He  was  a 
dissipated  gambler,  passing  from  gayety  to  depression.  His 
keen  disappointment  in  love  in  Italy  was  accompanied  by  brain 
fever.  For  some  time  after  this  he  could  not  speak  of  his 
chagrin  without  falling  into  syncope.  He  had  an  hallucination, 
and  to  distinguish  it  from  real  things  he  had  to  ask  his  brother. 
Wellington  was  subject  to  fainting  fits ;  he  had  epilepsy  and 
died  from  an  attack  of  the  disease.  Warren  Hastings  was 
sickly  during  his  whole  life ;  in  his  latter  years  he  suffered  from 
paralysis,  giddiness,  and  hallucinations  of  hearing.  During  the 
time  of  his  paralysis  he  developed  a  taste  for  writing  poetry. 
Carlyle,  the  dyspeptic  martyr,  showed  extreme  irritability.  He 
says  in  his  diary  :  *  Nerves  all  inflamed  and  torn  up,  body  and 
mind  in  a  hag-ridden  condition.’  He  suffered  from  a  paralysis 
in  his  right  hand.  Carlyle’s  antecedents  were  conspicuously  of 
a  nervous  kind.  Bach  died  from  a  stroke  of  apoplexy  ;  one  of 
his  numerous  children  was  an  idiot.  His  family  suffered  from 
nervous  diseases.  Handel  was  very  irritable ;  at  the  age  of 
fifty  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  which  so  affected  his  mind 
that  he  lived  in  retirement  for  a  year. 

“  Nisbet  says  :  1  Pathologically  speaking,  music  is  as  fatal  a 
gift  to  its  possessor  as  the  faculty  for  poetry  or  letters ;  the 
biographies  of  all  the  greatest  musicians  being  a  miserable 
chronicle  of  the  ravages  of  nerve  disorder  extending,  like  the 


3H 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


Mosaic  curse,  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation.’  Newton  in 
the  last  years  of  his  life  fell  into  a  melancholia  which  deprived 
him  of  his  power  of  thought.  Newton  himself,  in  a  letter  to 
Locke, says  that  he  passed  some  months  without  having  ‘a  con¬ 
sistency  of  mind.’  He  was  also  subject  to  vertigo.  From  the 
manner  of  manifestation  and  the  results  following  from  this  dis¬ 
ease,  Moreau  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  it  permits  a  certain 
degree  of  diagnosis  and  may  be  called  acute  dementia. 

“  The  insanity  of  Tasso  is  probable  from  the  fact  that,  like 
Socrates,  he  believed  he  had  a  familiar  genius  which  was 
pleased  to  talk  with  him,  and  from  whom  he  learned  things 
never  before  heard  of.  Swift  died  insane.  Chateaubriand 
during  his  youth  had  ideas  of  suicide,  and  attempted  to  kill 
himself.  His  father  died  of  apoplexy ;  his  brother  had  an 
eccentricity  bordering  on  insanity ;  was  given  to  all  vices  and 
died  of  paralysis.  ‘  My  chief  fault,’  says  Chateaubriand,  ‘  is 
weariness,  disgust  of  everything,  and  perpetual  doubt.’  Tacitus 
had  a  son  who  was  an  idiot.  Beethoven  was  naturally  bizarre 
and  exceedingly  irritable.  He  became  deaf,  and  fell  into  a  pro¬ 
found  melancholia,  in  which  he  died.  Alexander  the  Great  had 
a  neurosis  of  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  attacking  him  from  birth, 
and  causing  his  head  to  incline  constantly  upon  his  shoulders, 
He  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two,  having  all  the  symptoms  of 
acute  delirium  tremens.  His  brother  Arrchide  was  an  idiot. 
His  mother  was  a  dissolute  woman  ;  his  father  was  both  disso¬ 
lute  and  violent.  De  Balzac  (Honord)  died  of  hypertrophy  of 
the  heart,  a  disease  that  can  predispose  one  to  cerebral  conges¬ 
tion.  The  eccentricity  of  his  ideas  is  well  known.  Lamartine 
says  he  had  peculiar  notions  about  everything ;  was  in  contra¬ 
diction  with  the  common-sense  of  ‘this  low  world.’  His  father 
was  as  peculiar.  Lord  Chatham  was  from  a  family  of  original 
mental  disproportions,  of  peculiarities  almost  approaching 
alienation.  Lord  Chatham  did  not  do  things  as  others:  he  was 
mysterious  and  violent,  indolent  and  active,  imperious  and 
charming.  Pope  was  rickety.  He  had  this  hallucination :  one 
day  he  seemed  to  see  an  arm  come  out  from  the  wall,  and  he 
inquired  of  his  physician  what  this  arm  could  be.  Lord  Byron 
was  scrofulous  and  rachitic  and  club-footed.  Sometimes  he 
imagined  that  he  was  visited  by  a  ghost;  this  he  attributed  to 
the  over-excitability  of  his  brain.  He  was  born  in  convulsions. 
Lord  Dudley  had  the  conviction  that  Byron  was  insane.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington  died  of  an  apoplectic  attack.  Napoleon  I. 
had  a  bent  back ;  an  involuntary  movement  of  the  right 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


315 


shoulder,  and  at  the  same  time  another  movement  of  the  mouth 
from  left  to  right.  When  in  anger,  according  to  his  own 
expression,  he  looked  like  a  hurricane,  and  felt  a  vibration  in 
the  calf  of  his  left  leg.  Having  a  very  delicate  head,  he  did 
not  like  new  hats.  He  feared  apoplexy.  To  a  general  in  his 
room  he  said,  ‘  See  up  there.’  The  general  did  not  respond. 
‘What,’  said  Napoleon,  ‘do  you  not  discover  it?  It  is  before 
you,  brilliant,  becoming  animated  by  degrees ;  it  cried  out 
that  it  would  never  abandon  me ;  I  see  it  on  all  great  occa¬ 
sions  ;  it  says  to  me  to  advance,  and  it  is  for  me  a  constant  sign 
of  fortune.’ 

“  Originality  is  very  common,  both  to  men  of  genius  and  the 
insane ;  but  in  the  latter  case  it  is  generally  without  purpose. 
Lombroso  goes  so  far  as  to  make  unconsciousness  and  spon¬ 
taneity  in  genius  resemble  epileptic  attacks.  Hagen  makes 
irresistible  impulse  one  of  the  characteristics  of  genius,  as 
Schiile  does  in  insanity.  Mozart  avowed  that  his  musical 
inventions  came  involuntary,  like  dreams,  showing  an  uncon¬ 
sciousness  and  spontaneity  which  are  also  frequent  in  insanity. 
Socrates  says  that  poets  create,  not  by  reflection,  but  by  natural 
instinct.  Voltaire  said,  in  a  letter  to  Diderot,  that  all  manifes¬ 
tations  of  genius  are  effects  of  instinct,  and  that  all  the  philoso¬ 
phers  of  the  world  together  could  not  have  given  ‘  Les  animaux 
malades  de  la  peste,’  which  La  Fontaine  composed  without 
knowing  even  what  he  did.” 

The  remark  of  Voltaire,  above  quoted,  was  itself  an  in¬ 
spiration  ;  for  it  furnishes  the  key  to  the  whole  subject. 
“All  manifestations  of  genius,”  says  he,  “are  the  effects  of 
instinct,”  —  that  is  to  say,  all  manifestations  of  genius  are 
the  results  of  cultivation  of  the  subjective  faculties  ;  and  all 
the  abnormalities  of  genius  are  the  results  of  the  predomi¬ 
nance  of  the  subjective  faculties  over  the  faculties  of  ob¬ 
jective  reason  and  judgment. 

It  is  obvious  that  if  there  is  any  one  form  of  psychic 
development  that  is  useful  to  mankind,  it  is  that  of  genius ; 
.and  it  is  equally  obvious  that  if  there  is  any  one  form  of 
psychic  development  that  could  possibly  be  harmless  to 
the  physical  organism,  it  must  be  in  cases  where  the  objec¬ 
tive  and  subjective  faculties  are  developed  in  more  or  less 


3  l6  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 

perfect  synchronism.  As  genius  affords  the  best,  nay,  the 
only  illustrations  of  the  most  useful  and  at  the  same  time 
the  least  harmful  of  all  manifestations  of  psychic  activity,  I 
have  ventured  to  avail  myself  of  the  researches  of  one  of 
the  most  eminent  students  of  the  abnormal  in  mankind  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  that  there  is  but  one  step  between 
insanity  and  the  least  harmful  of  psychic  manifestations. 

One  of  the  great  practical  lessons,  therefore,  which 
psychic  science  teaches  is  that,  normally,  this  is  an  objec¬ 
tive  world,  —  the  realm  of  physical  life  and  activity.  God 
has  endowed  us  with  faculties  of  mind  exactly  fitted  for  our 
physical  environment ;  and  they  are  all-sufficient  to  enable 
us  to  master  the  forces  of  physical  Nature  so  far  as  to  ren¬ 
der  our  brief  sojourn  within  its  realm  tolerable  and  even 
pleasant.  Those  are  the  faculties,  therefore,  which  we 
should  cultivate  in  this  form  of  existence ;  for  their  func¬ 
tions  pertain  exclusively  to  this  life,  and  to  no  other.  On 
the  other  hand,  psychic  science  teaches  us  that  we  are  the 
possessors  of  other  faculties  which  perform  no  normal  func¬ 
tions  in  this  life ;  and  practical  experience  shows  that  the 
habitual  exercise  of  those  faculties  in  this  life  produces  the 
most  disastrous  results  to  both  body  and  mind. 

The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  we  should  carefully 
refrain  from  exercising  and  developing,  in  this  life,  those 
powers  which  belong  exclusively  to  another  form  of  exist¬ 
ence  ;  and  the  necessity  for  this  inhibition  becomes  still 
more  apparent  when  we  remember  that  all  immorality,  all 
vice,  all  crime,  and  all  insanity  arise  from  one  and  the 
same  cause,  namely,  the  dominance  of  the  subjective  facul¬ 
ties  ;  and  that  all  exercise  of  psychic  powers  for  other  than 
works  of  necessity,  and  all  practices  which  develop  and  cul¬ 
tivate  the  subjective  faculties,  have  a  direct  tendency  to 
arouse  to  abnormal  activity  those  emotions  and  propensi¬ 
ties  which,  uncontrolled  by  reason,  lead  to  immorality,  vice, 
crime,  and  insanity. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

LOGICAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  CONCLUSIONS. 


A  Perspective  View  of  the  Arguments  Presented.  —  The  Final  Syl¬ 
logism.  —  The  Parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus.  —  The 
Christian’s  Heaven.  —  The  Revelations  of  Modern  Science  Iden¬ 
tical  with  those  of  Jesus. 

I  HAVE  now  briefly  outlined  a  few  of  the  principal  argu- 
*  ments  for  a  future  life  which  are  based  upon  the  ob¬ 
servable  and  demonstrable  facts  of  experimental  psychology, 
so  far  as  those  facts  have  been  definitely  ascertained 
through  modern  scientific  investigations.  The  treatment 
has  necessarily  been  brief ;  for,  although  the  science  of  the 
soul  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  the  basic  facts  have  accumulated 
at  an  astonishing  rate  since  the  world  has  learned  where  to 
look  for  them.  From  the  great  mass  of  data  thus  far  avail¬ 
able  I  have  selected  what  seemed  to  be  the  most  important, 
and,  to  borrow  a  phrase  from  art,  I  have  delineated  them 
thus  far  in  sectional  detail.  A  perspective  view  will  now 
be  attempted  in  the  form  of  a  brief  resume  of  the  salient 
features  of  the  argument.  This  will  be  done  at  the  risk  of 
what  might  be  considered  unnecessary  repetition ;  but  the 
intelligent  reader  will  agree  with  me  that  fundamental  facts 
and  principles  cannot  be  too  thoroughly  impressed  upon 
the  mind  of  the  earnest  and  conscientious  searcher  after 
truth. 

The  fundamental  axiom  upon  which  our  argument  is 
based,  and  which  the  reader  is  again  requested  constantly 


318 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


to  bear  in  mind,  is  this :  There  is  no  faculty,  emotion,  ot 
organism  of  the  human  mind  that  has  not  its  use,  function, 
or  object. 

The  first  great  fundamental  fact  presented  to  view  is  that 
man  is  endowed  with  a  dual  mind.  This  has  been  abun¬ 
dantly  demonstrated  by  the  facts  of  experimental  hypno¬ 
tism,  cerebral  anatomy,  and  experimental  surgery.  It  has 
also  been  shown  to  be  a  primordial  fact  of  psychic  evolution. 

The  fact  of  duality  alone,  considered  in  connection  with 
our  fundamental  axiom,  is  sufficient  to  put  the  intelligent 
observer  upon  an  earnest  inquiry  into  the  possible  use, 
function,  and  object  of  a  dual  mental  organism ;  and  his 
first  inquiry  is,  “  What  possible  use  is  there  for  two  minds  it 
both  are  to  perish  with  the  body?”  A  future  life,  there¬ 
fore,  is  at  once  suggested  by  this  one  isolated  fact ;  and  the 
suggestion  is  further  strengthened  by  the  fact  that,  whilst 
one  of  the  two  minds  grows  feeble  as  the  body  loses  its 
vitality  and  is  extinguished  when  the  brain  ceases  to  per¬ 
form  its  functions,  the  other  mind  grows  strong  as  the  body 
grows  weak,  stronger  still  when  the  brain  ceases  to  act,  and 
reaches  its  maximum  of  power  to  produce  observable  phe¬ 
nomena  at  the  very  hour  of  physical  dissolution.  It  is 
simply  impossible,  from  these  two  facts  alone,  to  resist  the 
conclusion  that  the  mind  which  reaches  its  maximum  of 
observable  power  at  the  moment  of  dissolution  is  not  ex¬ 
tinguished  by  the  act  of  dissolution.  These  facts,  therefore, 
constitute  presumptive  evidence  of  a  future  life.  They  are 
not  claimed  to  be  conclusive ;  yet  it  can  truly  be  said  that 
men  of  sound  judgment  habitually  stake  their  dearest  inter¬ 
ests  upon  evidence  less  demonstrative  of  vital  propositions. 
It  would,  indeed,  be  difficult  to  find  any  other  rational 
hypothesis  that  would  explain  all  the  phenomena  pertaining 
to  these  two  facts. 

The  next  great  fact,  or  congeries  of  facts,  which  presents 
itself  to  view  is  that  — 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  319 

1.  Each  of  the  two  minds  possesses  powers  and  functions 
which  are  not  shared  by  the  other. 

2.  Each  of  the  two  minds  is  hedged  about  by  limitations 
not  shared  by  the  other. 

3.  These  powers  and  limitations  are  divided  into  three 
distinct  classes  ;  namely,  — 

(a)  Those  which  belong  exclusively  to  the  objective 
mind ; 

( b )  Those  which  belong  exclusively  to  the  subjective 
mind ; 

(c)  Those  which  are  common  to  both  minds. 

4.  Those  which  belong  to  class  (a)  pertain  exclusively 
to  physical  life  and  environment. 

5.  Those  which  belong  to  class  (b)  perform  no  function 
whatever  in  physical  life,  and  are  observable  only  under 
abnormal  physical  conditions. 

6.  Those  which  belong  to  class  (c)  are  more  or  less  imper¬ 
fect  —  finite  —  in  their  manifestations  in  the  objective  mind, 
whereas  each  faculty  is  perfect  in  the  subjective  mind. 

Thus  we  find  man,  as  he  is  presented  to  us  in  the  light 
of  demonstrable  facts,  possessed  of  a  dual  mental  organism, 
comprising  two  classes  of  faculties,  each  complete  in  itself. 

We  find  one  class  of  faculties  to  be  finite,  perishable, 
imperfect,  and  yet  well  adapted  to  a  physical  existence  and 
a  material  environment,  and  capable  of  development,  by 
the  processes  of  evolution,  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence, 
morally,  physically,  and  mentally,  within  the  limits  of  its 
finite  nature.  We  also  find  that  the  noblest  faculties  be¬ 
longing  to  physical  man  —  those  faculties  which  alone 
render  his  existence  in  this  life  tolerable  or  even  possible, 
those  faculties  which  give  him  dominion  over  the  forces  of 
physical  nature  —  are  faculties  which  pertain  exclusively  to 
this  life. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  find  another  set  of  faculties,  each 
perfect  in  itself,  and  complete  in  the  aggregate,  —  that  is  to 


320 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


say,  every  faculty,  attribute,  and  power  necessary  to  con¬ 
stitute  a  complete  personality  being  present  in  perfection  ; 
and  we  find  that  the  most  important  of  those  faculties 
perform  no  normal  function  in  physical  life. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  personality,  connascent  with  the 
physical  organism,  but  possessing  independent  powers ;  a 
distinct  entity,  with  the  intellect  of  a  god ;  a  human  soul, 
filled  with  human  emotions,  affections,  hopes,  aspirations, 
and  desires ;  longing  for  immortal  life  with  a  passionate 
yearning  that  passeth  understanding ;  possessing,  in  a  word, 
all  the  intellectual  and  moral  attributes  of  a  perfect  man¬ 
hood,  together  with  a  kinetic  force  often  transcending,  in 
its  visible  manifestations,  the  power  of  the  physical  frame ; 
in  a  word,  “a  perfect  being,  nobly  planned,”  —  a  being  of 
godlike  powers  and  of  infinite  possibilities. 

In  his  apostrophe  to  man,  Shakespeare  must  have  em¬ 
bodied  a  description  of  an  inspired  vision,  not  of  a  mere 
human  entity  as  it  is  visible  in  the  flesh,  but  of  a  disem¬ 
bodied  soul,  clothed  with  the  investiture  of  Heaven,  and  in 
full  possession  of  its  heritage  of  immortal  attributes.  It  was 
a  dream  of  such  a  being  that  he  put  into  the  mouth  of 
Hamlet  in  these  memorable  words  :  — 

“  What  a  piece  of  work  is  a  man  !  how  noble  in  reason !  how 
infinite  in  faculty!  in  form  and  moving  how  express  and  admi¬ 
rable  !  in  action  how  like  an  angel !  in  apprehension  how  like 
a  god !  ” 

The  reader  will  not  fail  to  remember  the  last  exclama¬ 
tion  in  connection  with  what  has  been  said  of  man’s  powers 
of  intuitional  perception  of  divine  truth,  —  a  power  which 
belongs  alone  to  the  soul ;  a  power  which  in  itself  is 
demonstrative  of  kinship  to  God,  because  it  is  the  essential 
attribute  of  Omniscience. 

Is  it  conceivable  that  there  has  been  created  such  a  man¬ 
hood  without  a  mission,  such  faculties  without  a  function, 
such  powers  without  a  purpose? 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


321 


Impossible  !  If  Nature  is  constant,  no  faculty  of  the 
human  mind  exists  without  a  normal  function  to  perform. 
If  no  faculty  exists  without  a  normal  function  to  perform, 
those  faculties  which  do  exist  must  perform  their  functions 
either  in  this  life  or  a  future  life.  If  man  possesses  faculties 
which  perform  no  normal  function  in  this  life,  it  follows 
that  the  functions  of  such  faculties  must  be  performed  in  a 
future  life. 

Or,  to  put  the  argument  in  a  still  more  concise  and  purely 
syllogistic  form,  the  propositions  stand  thus  :  — 

Every  faculty  of  the  human  mind  has  a  normal  function 
to  perform  either  in  this  life  or  in  a  future  life. 

Some  faculties  of  the  human  mind  perform  no  normal 
functions  in  this  life. 

Therefore,  Some  faculties  of  the  human  mind  are  destined 
to  perform  their  fu?ictions  in  a  future  life. 

No  scientist  will  for  a  moment  question  the  soundness 
of  the  major  premise  of  the  above  syllogism.  It  is  self- 
evident,  —  axiomatic. 

No  one  who  is  at  all  familiar  with  the  results  of  modern 
scientific  research  in  the  field  of  psychic  phenomena  will 
for  a  moment  gainsay  the  minor  premise.  The  one  faculty 
of  telepathy  alone  is  demonstrative  of  the  soundness  of  that 
proposition,  to  say  nothing  of  the  faculty  of  intuitive  percep¬ 
tion,  etc. 

The  major  and  minor  premises  being  each  demonstrably 
true,  the  soundness  of  the  conclusion  that  man  is  destined 
to  inherit  a  future  life  is  self-evident. 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  constructing  this  final  syllogism, 
I  have  done  so  without  reference  to  the  theory  of  the  dual 
mind.  Not  that  I  have  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  scientific 
accuracy  of  that  hypothesis ;  for  I  can  have  none  in  view  of 
the  array  of  facts  which  have  been  presented.  But,  as  I  have 
already  pointed  out,  the  theory  of  a  dual  mind  and  the  theory 
of  a  unitary  mind  with  dual  faculties  are  concurrent  hy- 


21 


322 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


potheses,  and  lead  to  identical  conclusions.  Hypothesis  is 
not  a  final  dogma  :  it  is  merely  an  instrument  of  logic.  It  is 
the  divining-rod  of  truth.  Facts  are  primordial,  antecedent, 
and  ultimate,  and  exist  independently  of  any  hypothesis  that 
may  be  employed  to  account  for  them.  The  fact  that  the 
human  mind  is  endowed  with  two  distinct  classes  of  faculties 
is  demonstrable  in  itself,  and  exists  independently  of  either 
the  dual  or  the  unitary  hypothesis.  That  being  the  essential 
fact,  I  have  framed  my  syllogism  in  terms  broad  enough  to 
arrest  the  attention  and  extort  the  assent  of  the  scientist  who 
is  not  yet  ready  fully  to  indorse  the  dual  hypothesis. 

I  have  now  finished  my  argument  for  a  future  life.  If  the 
facts  which  have  been  adduced  do  not  demonstrate  my  thesis, 
crudely  and  imperfectly  as  they  have  been  presented,  then 
Nature  herself  has  performed  a  miracle,  and  demonstrated 
her  inconstancy. 

Before  closing,  however,  I  desire  to  draw  attention  to  one 
general  conclusion,  derivable  from  the  facts  herein  presented, 
which  must  be  a  source  of  pride  and  gratulation  to  every 
inhabitant  of  Christian  lands,  whatever  may  be  his  individual 
belief  or  bias  on  the  subject  of  Christianity.  That  conclusion 
is  that  the  facts  of  psychic  science  fully  and  completely  sus¬ 
tain  the  religious  philosophy  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  demon¬ 
strate  his  perfect  mastery  of  the  science  of  the  soul,  and 
confirm  every  essential  doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion. 
It  is  almost  superfluous  to  remark  that  this  can  be  said  of 
no  other  religion  on  earth.  It  is  true  that  the  religious 
philosophy  of  the  Hindu  is  founded  upon  an  observation  of 
the  same  psychic  phenomena.  But,  as  I  have  remarked  in 
previous  chapters,  their  point  of  observation  did  not  take  in 
the  whole  field,  —  that  is,  they  did  not  take  into  considera¬ 
tion  all  of  the  powers  and  attributes  of  the  soul ;  nor  did 
their  partial  observation  bear  the  stamp  of  scientific  accuracy, 
owing  to  their  ignorance  of  the  fundamental  law  of  psychic 
science.  Whereas  the  Christian  religion  is  based  upon  an 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


323 


accurate  survey  of  the  entire  field  of  psychic  science  by  the 
most  colossal  religious  genius  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Not 
only  was  the  whole  field  surveyed  by  him,  but  it  was  with  a 
full  and  accurate  intuitive  knowledge  of  every  principle  in¬ 
volved,  as  well  as  of  every  attribute  of  the  human  soul.  That 
this  is  true,  is  scientifically  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that 
modern  scientific  induction  reveals,  in  every  detail,  the  same 
truths  which  Jesus  proclaimed  eighteen  hundred  years  ago. 

The  most  specific  utterance  of  Jesus  concerning  the 
future  life  and  its  conditions  is  contained  in  the  parable  of 
the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  which  reads  as  follows  :  — 

“  There  was  a  certain  rich  man,  which  was  clothed  in  purple 
and  fine  linen,  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day  : 

“  And  there  was  a  certain  beggar  named  Lazarus,  which  was 
laid  at  his  gate,  full  of  sores, 

“  And  desiring  to  be  fed  with  the  crumbs  which  fell  from  the 
rich  man's  table  :  moreover  the  dogs  came  and  licked  his  sores. 

“  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  the  beggar  died,  and  was  carried 
by  the  angels  into  Abraham’s  bosom :  the  rich  man  also  died, 
and  was  buried ; 

“  And  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments,  and 
seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom. 

“And  he  cried  and  said,  Father  Abraham,  have  mercy  on 
me,  and  send  Lazarus,  that  he  may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in 
water,  and  cool  my  tongue  ;  for  I  am  tormented  in  this  flame. 

“  But  Abraham  said,  Son,  remember  that  thou  in  thy  lifetime 
receivedst  thy  good  things,  and  likewise  Lazarus  evil  things : 
but  now  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  art  tormented. 

“  And  beside  all  this,  between  us  and  you  there  is  a  great 
gulf  fixed  :  so  that  they  which  would  pass  from  hence  to  you  can¬ 
not;  neither  can  they  pass  to  us,  that  would  come  from  thence. 

“  Then  he  said,  I  pray  thee  therefore,  father,  that  thou 
wouldest  send  him  to  my  father’s  house : 

“  For  I  have  five  brethren ;  that  he  may  testify  unto  them, 
lest  they  also  come  into  this  place  of  torment. 

“  Abraham  saith  unto  him,  They  have  Moses  and  the  proph¬ 
ets  ;  let  them  hear  them. 

“And  he  said,  Nay,  father  Abraham:  but  if  one  went  unto 
them  from  the  dead,  they  will  repent. 


324 


A  SCIENTIFIC  DEMONSTRATION 


“  And  be  said  unto  him,  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded,  though  one  rose  from 
the  dead.”  1 

This  parable,  couched  as  it  is  in  general  terms,  conveys, 
nevertheless,  specific  information  of  the  greatest  impor¬ 
tance.  The  words  “  And  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  ” 
and  saw  “  Abraham  afar  off  ”  convey  the  information  that 
the  souls  of  men  will  recognize  each  other  in  the  future  life. 

The  expression  “  And  he  cried  and  said,  Father  Abra¬ 
ham,”  etc.,  shows  that  spirits  communicate  with  each  other 
in  the  other  world. 

The  words  “  But  Abraham  said,  Son,  remember  that  thou 
in  thy  lifetime,”  etc.,  tell  us  that  we  remember  the  partic¬ 
ulars  of  our  earthly  life ;  whilst  the  remaining  part  of  the 
same  clause  teaches  us,  generally,  that  it  is  through  our 
memory  that  we  are  punished  for  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body ;  and,  specifically,  that  if  the  spirit  of  charity  and 
brotherly  love  is  not  regnant  in  our  breasts  in  this  life,  the 
memory  of  our  neglect  to  relieve  human  suffering  will  be  a 
source  of  torment  to  us  in  the  world  to  come.  It  is  no¬ 
where  stated  that  the  rich  man  was  not  a  good  citizen  in 
the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  The  only  charge  against  him 
was  that  out  of  his  abundance  of  this  world’s  goods  he 
failed  to  relieve  the  distress  of  the  beggar  at  his  door. 

The  words  “  Then  he  said,  I  pray  thee  therefore,  father, 
that  thou  wouldest  send  him  to  my  father’s  house  :  for  I  have 
five  brethren,”  etc.,  conveys,  in  unmistakable  language,  the 
information  that,  good  or  bad  as  we  may  be  in  this  life,  we 
retain,  in  the  future  life,  our  affection  for  those  we  love  in 
this  form  of  existence  ;  and  that  it  is  partly  through  our 
affectional  emotions  that  we  are  made  happy  or  wretched 
in  the  life  to  come. 

The  unmistakable  import  of  the  closing  clauses  of  the 
parable  is  that  it  is  neither  expedient  nor  possible,  for  any 
1  Luke  xvi.  19-31. 


OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE.  325 

purpose  whatever,  for  spirits  of  the  dead  to  communicate 
with  the  living. 

This  parable  was  obviously  intended  to  convey  to  the 
world  the  sum  total  of  all  the  knowledge  of  the  conditions 
of  the  future  life  which  Jesus  could  successfully  impart  to 
the  finite  comprehension  of  his  followers.  If  communica¬ 
tion  of  spirits  of  the  dead  with  the  living  is  a  possibility,  he 
would  have  taken  that  occasion  to  impart  the  information. 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  Jesus  knew  the  laws  of  the 
soul,  and  was  aware  of  its  powers,  functions,  and  limitations, 
it  is  impossible,  without  impugning  his  character  for  sin¬ 
cerity,  to  suppose  that  he  could  have  uttered  the  words  of 
the  closing  sentences  of  that  parable  if  spirit  communica¬ 
tion  with  the  living  is  either  expedient  or  possible.  The 
points  of  information,  however,  which  he  did  from  time  to 
time  impart,  are  of  the  utmost  value  and  importance,  and, 
moreover,  they  coincide  exactly  with  the  inductions  of 
modern  science. 

Thus,  modern  psychic  science  reveals  the  same  omnipo¬ 
tent,  omnipresent,  omniscient,  immanent  God,  —  the  same 
loving,  tender,  benevolent,  merciful  Father  whom  Jesus  was 
the  first  to  proclaim. 

It  reveals  the  same  frail  man,  possessing  all  the  pow¬ 
ers,  attributes,  and  limitations  which  Jesus  declared  or 
exemplified. 

It  reveals  the  same  immortal  destiny  for  man  which  Jesus 
“brought  to  light,”  and  prescribes  the  same  conditions 
precedent  to  its  enjoyment. 

It  reveals  the  soul  of  man  as  the  possessor  of  all  the 
faculties,  affections,  and  emotions  which  are  requisite  and 
necessary  for  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  felicity  in  the  future 
life. 

And  it  also  reveals,  in  those  same  faculties  and  affectional 
emotions,  —  in  the  perfect  memory  of  every  detail  of  the 
acts  and  deeds  of  earthly  life,  together  with  the  awakened 


326  DEMONSTRATION  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 


conscience  resulting  from  the  intuitive  perception  of  the 
eternal  principles  of  right  and  wrong,  —  a  most  perfect 
means  for  conferring  the  rewards  promised  by  the  Christian 
religion  for  a  well-spent  life,  as  well  as  for  meting  out  the 
punishments  for  vice  and  crime,  in  exact  and  necessary 
accordance  “  with  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.” 

Moreover,  science  ceases  its  revelations  at  the  very  point 
where  Jesus  paused;  namely,  at  the  portals  of  the  tomb. 
He  gave  us  an  assurance  of  a  future  life ;  and  science  con¬ 
firms  his  words.  He  assured  us  of  abundant  rewards  in  the 
future  life  for  righteousness  in  this ;  and  science  reveals  in 
us  the  capacity  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  promised  rewards. 
Beyond  that  his  lips  were  sealed.  Beyond  that  science 
cannot  penetrate. 


THE  END. 


THE  LAW  OF  PSYCHIC 


PHENOMENA 


A  WORKING  HYPOTHESIS  FOR  THE 
SYSTEMATIC  STUDY  OF  HYPNOTISM, 
SPIRITISM,  MENTAL  THERAPEUTICS,  etc. 


By  THOMSON  JAY  HUDSON,  LL.D. 

Author  ok  "A  Scientific  Demonstration  of  the  Future  Life,” 
“The  Divine  Pedigree  of  Man,”  etc. 


12mo.  409  pages.  $1.50. 


There  cannot  be  too  many  books  so  honest,  so  faithful  to  a  point  of  view, 
so  elevated  and  just  in  tone,  so  strong  and  able  and  comprehensive  in  reason¬ 
ing,  as  this  one  is.  It  is  the  most  far-sighted  and  complete  work  yet  issued 
on  the  subject. —  Public  Opinion ,  Washington. 

Throughout  Dr.  Hudson  is  discreet,  candid,  and  reverent.  His  pages 
impress  the  fact  that  there  is  a  wide  realm  of  truth  bearing  upon  his  subject  in 
which  but  the  most  incipient  discoveries  have  been  made  as  yet,  and  into 
which  earnest  thinkers  may  well  endeavor  to  penetrate  further. —  Congrega¬ 
tion  alist,  Boston. 

It  would  be  very  pleasant  and  profitable,  if  space  permitted,  to  quote 
largely  from  this  interesting  book,  for  it  is  full  of  curious  things;  but  we  must 
be  satisfied  with  this  general  reference  and  with  saying  that  the  volume  is 
fresh,  novel,  somewhat  exciting,  mentally  stimulating,  and  ought  to  be  widely 
read,  as  it  probably  will  be.—  New  York  Herald. 

The  author  has  shown  himself  to  be  a  diligent  student  of  a  theme  which  is 
destined  to  be  uppermost  in  public  attention  for  a  long  time  to  come,  and  his 
observations  are  worthy  of  careful  study. — Beacon ,  Boston. 


For  sale  by  booksellers  generally,  or  will  be  sent  post - 
paid,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  $1.50,  by  the  publishers, 


A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO.,  CHICAGO. 


The  Divine  Pedigree  of  Man, 


OR  THE  TESTIMONY  OF 
EVOLUTION  AND  PSYCHOLOGY 
TO  THE  FATHERHOOD  OF  GOD 


By  THOMSON  JAY  HUDSON,  LL.D. 

AUTHOR  OF  “THE  LAW  OF  PSYCHIC  PHENOMENA,”  Etc. 


12mo.  379  pages.  $1.50. 


Dr.  Hudson’s  new  book  presents  an  original  interpretation 
of  the  facts  which  have  been  accumulated  by  the  labors  of 
evolutionists,  Haeckel,  Darwin,  Spencer,  and  the  rest;  and, 
in  an  argument  founded  on  a  demonstration  of  the  fact  that 
the  God-like  powers  of  man  exist  potentially  in  the  lowest 
forms  of  life  known  to  us,  strengthens  the  belief  in  Christian 
Theism  and  deals  a  formidable  blow  to  the  position  assumed 
by  atheists.  Dr.  Hudson’s  conception  of  evolution  is  worked 
out  with  the  same  avoidance  of  vague  theory,  and  the  same 
adherence  to  a  basis  of  well-authenticated  facts  and  to  cogent 
and  logical  reasoning,  which  characterize  his  former  works. 
It  will  prove  a  helpful  and  interesting  work  to  every  thoughtful 
man  and  woman. 

Dr.  Hudson  has  an  interesting  style,  a  method  at  once  deliberate  and 
energetic,  and  his  instances  are  well  chosen  and  effective.  He  has  avoided,  in 
this  book  at  least,  one  of  the  pitfalls  of  writers  on  psychology,  a  redundancy 
of  illustration.  .  .  .  The  argument  is  a  strong  one,  strongly  presented,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  will  be  well  received  by  the  thousands  of 
readers  who  are  deeply  interested  in  this  vital  subject. —  The  Pioneer  Press, 
St.  Paul. 

Dr.  Hudson’s  line  of  argument  is  strikingly  original  and  remarkable  for  its 
logic  and  strength.  He  makes  out  a  case  that  cannot  fail  to  impress  the 
reader  who  follows  him. —  The  Detroit  Free  Press. 


For  sale  by  booksellers  generally,  or  will  be  sent,  post¬ 
paid,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  $  /  .50,  by  the  publishers, 


A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO.,  Chicago. 


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